WARRIORS HIGH SCHOOL - A DARKNESS DIVIDED
by Silvexi
Summary: After the mysterious disappearance of their friend, the high school gang realizes they're in for a lot more than textbooks, friends and fun. The voices of the darkness are growing louder. More and more lives are at risk. One warrior is getting called deeper and deeper into the shadows... and someone may already be dead.
1. Chapter 1: Dovewing's Explanation

_**Hello, new reader! Just letting you know, this chapter isn't really the actual story. It's just explaining the background of this particular plot. I tried to make it more unique than most warriors high school stories, especially in the later chapters. Enjoy!**_

_**~ Silvemitti**_

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**DOVEWING**

I sighed impatiently as I flopped down on my bed in my new dorm. I started flipping through my school handbook to pass the time. I was waiting for my unknown roommate to arrive. This year, I was attending Starlake High, the best high school on the island. Fiddling with the edge of my blanket, I mindlessly flipped to the guide page and started reading it for like 5th time.

The students at Starlake are separated into five sections. Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, and Sky. I'm in Thunder. According to the history books, our ancestors decided many centuries ago that they were bored of the same old way of living life. They wanted to try something new. New rules, new politics, new names, new _everything._

They took their ideas to the government who, being the stuck-up snob-noses they are, turned down the idea and told our ancestors never to speak of it again. But our ancestors refused. They spread their ideas and began gaining allies for their rebellion.

Finally, the government had had enough. They banished our ancestors and all their supporters to an uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean. They erased us from all maps and made sure we were forgotten. No one in the outside world will ever remember or find us.

Now free from the government's control, our ancestors built a community on this island, turning it into what it is today. Starlake Island. Named after our ancient ancestors who now live in the stars of the night sky. Whenever someone dies, they join our ancestors as a new star in the sky. They call themselves StarClan, for they are a community who will watch over us from the stars forever.

But of course, all cannot be good. There is also the darkness of the night sky, a place for evil, wretched spirits who made too many poor decisions in life. We call them the Dark Forest. An endless stretch of mud and swamps, dense trees and a unforgiving black sky with no moon and no stars. The perfect match for their rotten souls.

After the guide page, I decided to turn to one of my island guides. _Life at Starlake Island. _It explains the way we live, the way we operate, everything.

Basically, when we're born, our parents immediately take us to a special building where you are cared for by the queens, women who choose to dedicate their lives to caring for all the young. In this way, nobody remembers their parents or knows who their children are. It's part of the new lifestyle our ancestors wanted to try. Anyway, the queens give you a name that ends in "paw." For example, I started off as Dovepaw.

Then, once you graduate middle school, you are taken to a special cave called Highstones. At the bottom of the cave, there is a beautiful pool and a gorgeous giant stone surrounded by a sea of soft moss. When night falls, the moons shines through a hole in the cave roof and lights up the stone and pool. That's why we call them the Moonstone and the Moonpool. Then, while cave is still filled with moonlight, you sleep on the moss and StarClan comes to you in your dream. They give you your full name, replacing the "paw" with something else. Like "wing" to make "Dovewing". Of course, if your soul is cold and dark, you are visited by the Dark Forest instead and the same thing happens.

The name you receive at Highstones is your new and forever name. If you are a direct descendant of one of the first five founders of Starlake Island, Thunderstar, Windstar, Riverstar, Shadowstar and Skystar, you take the name "star", like a popular Thunder student named Firestar. You only know you're a descendant if a bright star shape suddenly appears and illuminates on your forehead when the the cave lights up. The star-shape vanishes as soon as the cave stops glowing, but it's the mark of the founders and leaders of Starlake Island's creatiors. Believe it or not, people from the Dark Forest are given the name "star" too, because good or bad, they are still a descendant.

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**_I hope you like the background story! Please review and give me honest feedback!_**


	2. Chapter 2: Leafpool's Quote

**IVYPOOL**

Grumbling, I trudged down the hallway towards my dorm, doing my best not to draw attention to myself. School... hasn't really worked out for me in the past. I don't have high hopes for this year either. Each year the teachers get stricter and more disciplined. Each year the kids get ditzier and more annoying. Each year the amount of work gets larger and more unbearable. And each year, my mood gets crummier and more hopeless.

I stopped as I reached the door labeled 401. I wondered who my roommate would be as I pushed my silver key into the lock and slowly opened the oak-brown door. The first thing I saw when I stepped in were two plain white beds. On one of them sat a girl with slightly tanned skin and dark ginger hair that ran down to her hips in long curly locks. She had grass-green eyes and a few ginger freckles that dotted the surface below each eye. She was wearing an orange t-shirt and sky-blue jeans. The girl looked up from her Star Style magazine as I entered the room. I watched as she carefully placed it faced down on her bed before getting up to greet me.

"Hi!" the she said in a cheerful tone. "I'm Squirrelflight!"

"Ivypool," I replied.

"You must be my new roommate!"

"Great observation," I said, crossing my arms. To my surprise, Squirrelflight just laughed and nodded.

"You're funny. I'm glad I'm with you this year. The last person I shared a room with was a stuck-up, fashion obessesed, fun-hating mouse-brain."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "So... you're not into fashion then?" I asked, gesturing towards the magazine.

"Not really," Squirrelflight replied. "I prefer something simple but cute. Why? Are you into fashion?"

I shook my head. "No, I like simple too. Black, gray, and the occasional silver will do."

Squirrelflight smiled. "Well then, I think we're going to get along a just fine," she said, extending her palm. I took it and we shook hands.

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**LEAFPOOL**

Nervously, I opened the door to room 397 and poked my head in. The lights were on and there were boxes stacked on both sides of the room. One pile was labeled _Leafpool _and the other was labeled _Dovewing_. I silently eased my way through the doorway and quietly shut the door behind me. Turning around, I spotted a pretty girl laying on the bed opposite of mine. She was reading a student handbook and had a bored expression on her face.

"Um... hello," I started nervously, not sure how to introduce myself. The girl immediately slammed her book shut and tossed it onto her pillow. Sitting up, she gave me a friendly smile and said, "Hello! My name is Dovewing!"

"Oh, uh, I'm Leafpool," I stammered, trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. I was always shy around new people, but this girl seemed very friendly. She had light silvery hair done in a neat braid down her back and brilliant blue-and-green eyes that glowed with warmth and kindness. She was wearing a light blue tank top and shorts to match, along with some cute sunshine yellow high-tops. She had a similar yellow ribbon woven through her braid and to top it all off, a light-pink headband.

"I love your outfit," I gasped.

She giggled. "Thanks! I like yours, too!"

I glanced self-consciously down at my light green shirt and plaid purple skirt. It seemed so plain and boring compared to Dovewing's outfit.

"I can give you some fashion tips, if you like," Dovewing said, seeming to read my thoughts. "I really like dressing up. It's fun!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "I'd like that."

We spent the next hour or so unpacking our stuff from our boxes. We each had our own closet and nightstand, along with a bulletin board at the head of our beds. "What's that?" Dovewing asked as I tacked a small poster to my board.

"Oh, it's a quote from one of my favorite books. _A Choice, by Petalfur._"

"Oooh, that's one of my favorites, too!" Dovewing exclaimed. "Which quote is it?"

Smiling happily, I read the poster out loud: _"Eventually, we all must make a choice between listening to right and listening to wrong. Choose wisely, for you can never go wrong by listening to your heart. Because your heart always speaks the loudest."_

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_**Do you like that quote? I know I do! Right and wrong are loud, but your heart is always the louder. I'm going to do my best to think up more quotes for this story! **_

_**All right, next up... CROWFEATHER!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Breezepelt's Mustard

**CROWFEATHER**

"Shut up!" I growled at my roommate. I was trying to relax on my bed but the _viper _was was singing a stupid song he'd made up about himself. I'd only known Berrynose for a couple of hours but I could already tell that he was an annoying brat who only loved bragging about himself.

"I'm so awesome! Awesome, awesome, that's my naaaaaaame..." he sang. Well, kinda sang. He sounded like a humpback with a squid stuck in its blowhole.

"I said SHUT UP!" I yelled, throwing my hands in the air.

"Hey! Rude!" he exclaimed. "I'm just singing!"

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like a mentally ill sheep."

"Oi! I have an _awesome _voice!"

Berrynose was one of those bee-brained blondes who thought he was all-great and all-handsome when he was neither. Usually, the "great and handsome" ones were they guys who didn't even notice it. For some strange reason, that was how the world worked.

Grumbling, I rolled over faced down and pulled my pillow over my head, pressing it against my ears. I really missed Feathertail right now. She and I had dated for a while before she and her brother Stormfur moved to the other side of the island and we had to break up. I missed her cheerful laugh and her kind smile. I wished I could find another girl like that. She was nothing like this annoying creep of a scuzzball, that was for sure. I sighed and hit my head on the mattress as Berrynose began a new song about how "wonderful" he is.

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**BREEZEPELT**

"What are you doing?"

I heard my roommate's voice as I opened up my suitcase and rubbed my hands together with glee. I had just finished unpacking all my other things and was ready for my grand finale.

"Just unpacking the last of my stuff," I said.

"Are you sure?" he asked, having seen my hand gesture.

I chuckled. "Come see for yourself."

The red-haired boy known as Foxleap strode across the room and curiously peaked into my bag. His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Where'd you get all this?"

I grinned as he admired my little treasure trove. It was filled with whoopee cushions, rubber barf, balloons, ingredients for all kinds of chemical reactions, and tons more. "I was top prankster at my old school, and I plan to be this year, too," I said reaching for one of the goodies.

"Really? You?" Foxleap asked, sounding surprised.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Foxleap held up his hands. "No offense, but you don't really seem all that, well, you know..." he trailed off, apparently unable to find the right words.

"Fun-loving? Happy-go-lucky? Huggable?" I guessed. "Yeah, that's what they all say. Which makes it the perfect cover."

Foxleap nodded understandingly. "So the only time I'll see you smile is when you're pulling a prank? Because when you first arrived, you were all 'I hate the world and everyone in it so don't talk to me or else.'"

I shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Okay. Weird, but okay. What's your first prank?"

I grinned again. "An old schoolmate of mine," I replied, holding up a bottle of yellow mustard and a water gun.

Foxleap got it in an instant. "Aw, yeah! Who's the target?"

"You'll see," I said, squeezing some mustard into the tank and turning to the door.

Once we were in the hallway, I led Foxleap down three corridors and up two flights of stairs. Note to self: getaways will be easy because this school is seriously huge.

Glancing down the next hallway from the top of the stairs, I spotted the victim and pointed him out to Foxleap. His eyes widened. "You can't be serious!" he gasped. "He'll kill you!"

"Oh, I know. I've done this before. But trust me, he won't get me this time," I whispered over my shoulder as I began to creep towards my target. He was talking to a blonde-haired with his back turned to me. The blonde had an annoyed expression on his face, which meant they were probably having an argument of some sort. Silently, I tiptoed forward until I was about a fox-length away. Then I held the water-gun up, took aim, and fired.

Crowfeather whipped around just in time to see me pull the trigger. He tried to duck out of the way but it was too late. Wet, sticky, yellow mustard sprayed all over his sweatshirt, dripping down his pants and onto the floor.

"AWESOME!" Foxleap cheered loudly from behind me. A little too loudly. In a matter or seconds, doors had swung open all through the hallway and students were stepping out their dorms to see what all the commotion was about.

Then I saw Crowfeather give me a glare like a thousand arrows aimed for my soul. Behind him, the blonde-haird boy peeked over his shoulder and spoke. "I only just met this guy, but something tells me you should run."

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_**Ha ha! How was it? I'm hoping to make this story decently entertaining. I'm a big fan of comedy. Please review! Thank you!**_


	4. Chapter 4: Lionblaze's Courage

_**Hey guys! I got a complaint that this story is a little to... bland. I agree. Right now, it's a lot like all those other Warriors High School stories. But don't worry! The action and drama begins next chapter, I promise!**_

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**SQUIRRELFLIGHT**

I couldn't stop giggling to myself. I'd been one of the many, many people out in the hallway when that boy (Breezepelt, I think) nailed Crowfeather with a mustard-filled water-gun. It was hilarious! I remembered pulling all kinds of pranks back in middle school. It was SO FUN! The look on one's face when they realized they'd sat on a plate of chocolate pudding was not soon forgotten.

I'd watched in amusement along with everyone else and Breezepelt turned and bolted towards the stairs. For a moment, it looked like he would make it. Then suddenly, _WHAM_! Crowfeather tackled him from behind like a pro football player. He moved so fast I could've sworn he wasn't just from Wind, but the wind itself.

The hall erupted with cheers and laughter as Crowfeather landed a welled aimed punch at Breezepelt's stomach, knocking the air out of him. Then, slowly, Crowfeather got up and headed back to his dorm, tugging off his sauce-stained sweatshirt as he went.

"Some scene, huh?" I joked, turning to my sister, Leafpool, who was standing beside me. When she didn't respond, leaned in to her ear and repeated, "LEAFPOOL!"

Startled, Leafpool whipped around and stared at me. "Sorry- what did you say?"

I realized, with some amusement, that she'd been staring at Crowfeather as he entered his dorm and shut the door. "Oooh, someone's got a crush on mister moody!" I said in a sing-song voice.

"N-no I don't! I just feel bad for him!" Leafpool stammered. "A-and don't call him moody!"

"But he is!"

"You'd be grumpy too if someone had just sprayed you with mustard!"

"Fair enough," I said, shrugging and walking back to my dorm. Though secretly, I still believed she liked him.

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**JAYFEATHER**

People see you differently when you're blind. They think something's wrong with you. They think you're helpless. Well I'm not helpless. I have the layout of the school memorized and can easily move around the building. My other senses are sharper than most people's to make up for my lack of sight. The school can give me assignments in braille. There's also a little invention called audiobooks (ever heard of 'em? the dummies haven't) that allow me to do assigned reading and such.

Honestly, I don't mind being blind. It's how people handle it that bothers me. It's always "Jayfeather this!" and "Jayfeather that!" and "What about Jayfeather? He can't see!" It's super annoying.

My siblings, however, have it so much easier. Hollyleaf is smart and friendly and pretty. Everyone loves her. Lionblaze is popular, cool, handsome and funny. Not to mention he's the captain of the football team. Me? I don't have a lot of friends. I can't play sports. I have a sharp attitude, and how am I supposed to know if I'm handsome if I've never even seen myself in a mirror? Whenever someone tells me I am handsome, I don't know if it's because I actually am or they just feel sorry for me. I hate it. I wish everyone would just leave me alone and treat me like a normal person.

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**LIONBLAZE**

I shifted my feet nervously as I waited outside the gym door. Normally, whenever a girl approached me, I'd say hello and then find some excuse to go elsewhere. But not this girl. She was cute and nice. She didn't follow me around everywhere or flip her haid at me during class. So I decided to ask out.

I took a deep a breath as I heard the bell ring and turned to face the doors as they swung open and the P.E. class came out. I searched the moving croud until I spotted her weaving her way through the throng. Pushing my way through, I tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to face me, eyes widening as she realized who I was. I motioned for her to follow me and ducked into a corner.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, stopping to face me.

I combed my hand nervously through my golden hair and replied, "No. I... uh... just wanted to ask you something."

"...Yes?" she asked again.

"Um... I was wondering if maybe, uh, you'd like to go out with me Saturday night? Like to the movies or something?"

At first, she said nothing and just stared at me, clearly shocked. I started to get nervous and was about to say it was alright if she didn't want to when she spoke. "Um, sure! Okay!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh, great! How does 5 o'clock sound?"

"Uh... yeah! Sounds great!" she replied.

"Okay... cool. See ya later then!" I called over my shoulder as I walked to my next class. Inside I was celebrating, my heart skipping a beat. I walked into science class a few minutes later, dizzy with joy.

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**HOLLYLEAF**

Cramming my books into my bag, I slammed my locker shut and bolted down the stairs to English class. I was late. I skidded around the corner and flung open the doors to my classroom, panting. Mistystar looked up from her deskand nodded to me. She added a red mark to her attendance sheet and said, "Have a seat, Hollyleaf."

I nodded obediently and took the only empty seat. It was next to a boy with with short, golden-brown hair. I recognized him as Thornclaw from the football team. He looked up and gave me a small, friendly smile as I sat down. I noticed he had a book out on his desk titled: _A Choice_. It was one of my favorites.

"Now class," Mistystar's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Please get out your notebooks and write an entry about what happened in chapters 1-6 in The Rabbit."

As I began my entry, I couldn't help sneaking a glance a Thornclaw. He was pretty handsome. He wore his silver and white football jersey and grey sweatpants. He had soft, amber eyes and chestnut skin to match his hair.

Later that day as I wandered through the halls to my last class, I still couldn't get him out of my mind.

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**_Okay, next chapter - ACTION AND DRAMA!_**

**_-Silver Speaker_**


	5. Chapter 5: Blustar's Horror

_**As I said, I'm skipping the rest of the introduction because it's taking too long. If you've read up to at least The Last hope, you should know who everyone else that pops up is. Enjoy! Drama begins... NOW!**_

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**Honeyfern**

"Okay, girls," I heard Silverstream's voice as the dance commitee meeting began. We have three weeks until the fall dance and it has to be absolutely _perfect_."

"Why? Becuase Graystripe will be there?" my sister, Poppyfrost, joked, reffering to the popular silver-haired boy Silverstream obviously had a crush on.

"This isn't about Graystripe!" Silverstream protested, blushing. "It's about the first dance of the school year!"

"What about poor Dovewing?" Hazeltail asked. "She's got two guys following her everywhere. She says it's 'very disturbing.'"

The other girls giggled. Silverstream rolled her eyes.

"We all know boys are relentless when it comes to this sort of thing."

"And Heathertail," I piped in. "She's already flirted with Lionblaze, Breezepelt and now Thornclaw!"

Now it was Cinderheart's turn. "We're talking about _boys, _not _brats_."

"Oh, yeah! Aren't you going out with Lionblaze tomorrow?" Blossomfall asked.

"Yeah... maybe..." Cinderheart replied shyly.

"I'm really happy for you Cinderheart, but aren't we getting a little off topic? What about the theme for the dance?" Briarlight asked.

Everyone turned to the dark-haired girl in the wheelchair. An accident with a falling tree had paralyzed her legs, but not her personality. Everyone loved Briarlight.

"She's right," I said. "What should the theme be?"

"Silver and yellow?" Rosepetal suggested.

"Or pink and blue?" Honeyfern added.

After a quick vote, we decided on pink and blue, because silver was already the school's signature color and seemed a little old. A few mintues into the music planning, Cinderheart said: "Hey, where's Bluestar?"

Suddenly, we all froze. Bluestar hadn't showed up to the meeting! She was usually the first on here! "I'll test her, Silverstream said, whipping out her phone and pressing a few buttons. After five minutes of silence, Silverstream said, "Something's not right. She wouldn't skip the meeting without telling anyone, right?"

We sat in silence until Briarlight called out, "Oakheart! He's her boyfriend! Surely she'd have told him where she was going if she left!"

"Of course!" Poppyfrost exclaimed. "Let's go find him!"

Only, we didn't have to. Barely a moment later, Bluestar burst into the room. She was panting and had a wild look in her eyes. "Have any of you seen Oakheart?" she gasped. We shook our heads.

"We were just going to look for him and ask him where you were," I replied.

Bluestar shook her head. "No, I haven't seen him all day. I've looked everywhere and called him at least five times. Even his brother doesn't know where he is. Guys, Oakheart is missing!"

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_**Haha! Thought Bluestar would be the one missing, did you? Yay! I love cliffhangers and unexpected twists! They're the best! Here's the first Quiz Question! Submit your answer through a review! Oh, and sorry this chapter was a little short!**_

_**QQ: Which ThunderClan kit made The Great Journey?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	6. Chapter 6: Dovewing's Discovery

_**Hey guys! Quiz Question Answer: Birchkit!**_

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**SANDSTORM**

I paced back and forth in my dorm, fighting back panic. It had been nearly five hours since Oakheart was reported missing and not a single person could recall where they last saw him. Bluestar sat on her bed, curled up in a ball, wet tissues surrounded her and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Everyone had been searching for the past three hours and nobody could find Oakheart.

We'd given up trying to contact him. The police were out searching the island but still, nobody could find him. I walked over and sat down on the bed next to a sobbing Bluestar. Wrapping my arms around her, I did my best to comfort her, saying I was sure Oakheart would turn up soon.

Just then, we heard a knock on the door and in came Crookedjaw, Willowbreeze, Graypool, Firestar and Graystripe, along with all the members of the dance commitee. "I'm sure he'll turn up soon," Willowbreeze said.

"I know my brother. He would never just disappear without a word. There's got to be a logical explanation for this," Crookedjaw added.

"That's just the thing," Bluestar said, her lip quivering. "We wouldn't just leave, so I'm afraid something terrible has happened. He could be trapped, kidnapped, or worse..." she trailed off, although her unsaid words hung in the air, fearing the worst.

"No," I said, standing up. "Oakheart is not dead, I won't believe that. He's smart and strong. He can find his way out of any situation, no matter how bad is it." Looking around the room, I saw the others nodding in agreement.

"Oakheart loves you," Firestar said, stepping forward. "He would never let you suffer like this. We all know that. So he definitely didn't disappear on purpose. We're going to find him and you're going to be fine. He's going to be fine."

I smiled at my boyfriend's confidence and positive attitude. If anyone deserved a medal for leadership, it was him. Turning back to Bluestar, I was surprised to see her slowly nodding. "You're right," she said. "It's probably just an accident of some sort. We'll find him and thing's will go back to normal.

Suddenly, the voice of Principal Leopardstar came on over the loudspeaker. "Attention, all students and faculty, please report to the gym immediatly. Repeat, Please report to the gym immediatly."

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**SILVERSTREAM**

Dumbfounded, my friends and I made our way down to main floor and into the large gym. Everyone else sat around the bleachers, looking equally as confused. Sitting down in one of the third rows, my friends and I huddled around Bluestar, comforting her. Through all the movement, I casually slid in next to Graystripe, my heart skipping a beat when he smiled at me.

The gym fell silent as Leopardstar walked in and took her place on the stage. "Ahem,' Leopardstar cleared her throat into the microphone. "As you probably all know, a student has gone missing from this school, Oakheart from River."

Heads turned to Bluestar and Crookedjaw as they did their best to keep straight faces. "And so..." Leopardstar continued. "I have called you all here to announce that the school is going on complete-" Leopardstar was interrupted by a loud alarm coming from the speakers.

"Attention, Starlake Island, your attention, please," an unfarmiliar voice sounded over the speakers. "This is the Starlake Police Department speaking," the voice continued. All around the gym, people gasped and Bluestar let loose a worried shiver. "We have recieved multiple reports of missing people and one of suspected murder. We highly advise that you all stay where you are and go into complete lockdown until we capture the source of these suspicions. Thank you."

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**BLUESTAR**

I couldn't believe my ears. I felt every pair of eyes immediatly turn to me once the alert was over. I felt the emotion building up inside me until I thought I won't burst. "Bluestar-" Sandstorm started, but I didn't want to hear it. Whipping around, I scampered down the bleachers and fled, my long, blue ponytail streaming out behind me. _How could this happen? _I wailed silently. _What did I ever do to deserve this?_ First my sister dies in a car crash, then my boyfriend goes missing, and now, there are reports of murder! He could die!

Sobbing uncontrollably, ran into my dorm and slammed the door behind me. Throwing myself onto my bed, I cried into my pillow. High school was turning into a disaster! I heard a knock on the door and then the steady creaking of it being opened. "Bluestar?" My roommate and friend, Snadstorm, whispered. She came in and sat down next to me, wrapping me in a hug. "How'ya holdin' up?" she asked, her voice filled with sympathy.

"Simple," I replied. "I'm not."

Sandstorm hugged me tighter. "I'm sorry, Bluestar, but we're coming up with a plan."

Confused, I sat up, stiffling my tears. "A plan? For what?"

Sandstorm smiled. "A plan for finding Oakheart."

"WHAT?! HOW?!"

"Come with me," she said, getting up and stepping into the hallway.

Not seeing much of a cjoice, I followed her. Sandstorm led us down the hall until we reached door number 531. Opening the door, Sandstorm stepped inside. I hurried in and shut the door behind me. Looking up, I realized we were in Dovewing and Squirrelflight's room. It was fairly large. Large enough to fit all of my friends. Most of them sat on the beds, but a few were huddled around the computer, where Dovewing was tinkering with an app of some sort.

"What are you doing?" I asked, walking up behind her. Dovewing turned round and grinned. "I'm tracking Oakheart," she responded.

"What?" I said, surprised. "How?"

Dovewing blushed. "Well, you know those rings you and Oakheart wear?"

I glanced down at the small silver ring Oakheart had given me on one of our dates. "Yes?" I replied.

"Well..." Dovewing continued. "He came to me and asked me to install tiny trackers in them, so you would always be able to find each other or something."

"Awww," Honeyfern gushed. "That's so sweet!"

"_Anyway,_" Dovewings said, that's what I'm using to find him. It should start working right about... now," she finished right as two, small red and blue dots appeared on the map of the island she had pulled up. "See?" she said, pointing to the screen. "That blue one is you, at the high school. And the red one is Oakheart. He's in..." she trailed off as she read the address. "Oh no," she whispered.

"What?" I asked, feeling a sense of dread come over me. "What is it?"

"It's Oakheart," she whispered. "He's at the abandoned farm."

"So?" I replied, confused. "Why does that matter?"

"That place is abandoned for a reason," Firestar said, stepping forward, a shadow darkening his gaze. "It's where the voices of the Dark Fprest speak the loudest. Many who go there never come back the same. Oakheart is strong, if anyone has a chance, he does. But no one can last forever."

"You don't mean..." Briarlight started, trailing off.

"Dovewing closed her eyes. "If we don't get him out soon, he will be corrupted and may never be the same."

* * *

_**Dun dun dun... QQ: Who fathered Brackenfur, Cinderpelt, Thornclaw and Brightheart?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	7. Chapter 7: Oakheart's Captor

_**Hey guys! Wow! 46 viewers! I'm so surprised! Special props to nightligght and tristanwaltz1! Love you guys!**_

_**QQA: Actually, Frostfur's mate was never revealed. It's a mystery!  
**_

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**FIRESTAR**

There was no time to lose. As soon as we figured out that Oakheatr was in danger, began hatching a plan. Lionblaze, Thornclaw, Crookedjaw, Graystripe and I was scout ahead at the farm and locate Oakheart. Then we'd come back and tell everyone so we could figure out how to get him out. We knew we couldn't tell the police because they would just get mad and tell us to go back to school. They didn't know how dangerous the farm was and we couldn't risk them getting corrupted.

We moved swiftly and silently, jumping from shadow to shadow so as not to be spotted. The farm at the edge of the ocean, cut off from the rest of the island. All four of us had a comminications device in our ear to communicate with each other and the our friends back at school. "Okay," Dovewing's voice sounded from the headphone. "You should be really close now."

"Copy that," I replied. "We have reached our destination." I could already smell the sour tang of darkness and death. Forcing myself to remain calm, I crouched behind a large bush and motioned for the other three to come over. Together, we peaked over the leafy branches and gasped. It was even worse than I'd imagined. The entire landscape was burnt and blackened. Dead trees and animals lay rotting on the bare ground. The horrible reek of death was everywhere. What was left of a rotted, wooden fence was covered with mud and ashes, surrounded a gray and black barn with chunks of the roof missing.

"What happened here?" Lionblaze whispered.

"Some kind of monstrous wildfire by the looks of it," Graystripe replied.

"Should we go back?" Thornclaw asked, uncertainly.

"No!" Crookedjaw hissed. "My brother is in there possibly about to die or be corrupted so WE ARE NOT GOING BACK!"

"Lower your voice," I growled. Turning to the other three, I added, "He's right though. We can't go back now. We're too close."

They nodded and we began slowly making our way towards the barn, silently moving among the dead trees and decaying carcasses, stopping every now and then to check that no one was watching us.

When we reached the barn at last, we realized we had a problem. The huge doors had been blocked by boulders and fallen trees, making it impossible to enter. "The door must've been barred off when our ancestors realized this place was haunted," Graystripe said.

"Let's look for another way in," I replied, circling around the barn and checking for another opening. The place was really banged up. The wood was dead and rotting and the all paint had been burned away, leaving only ugly, blackened wood covered in ashes and smelling of rotting flesh. Thornclaw wrinkled his nose.

"I don't know if I'm more worried about Oakheart being corrupted, or him suffocating of this terrbile smell," he commented.

Crookedjaw shot him a warning look and Thornclaw shut his mouth. I sighed as I walked around the barn for the fourth time. "Dovewing, I don't see a way in. Can you confirm that Oakheart's in there?" I said.

"Checking structure for heat signatures... yup. There two, one of which matches Oakheart's build perfectly," she reported.

"Wait... two?!" Crookedjaw gasped. "Who's the other one?"

"I don't know," Dovewing responded. "You'll have to find a way in so I can glimpse them through the cameras in your devices."

"How do we get in though? The door is blocked," Graystripe said.

"According to the digital diagram I've created from your camera footage, there should be a small, broken window in the back. It's a bit of a sqeeze, but all five of you should be able to get through," she answered.

"I've found it!" Lionblaze called. "It's a fairly easy fit."

Running around to the back of the barn, I saw Lionblaze disappear through the tattered window frame before the others followed him. Stepping up to the broken window, I noticed shattered glass on the ground and figured this was how whoever was holding Oakheart captive had gotton in. Taking a deep breath, I sucked up my courage and entered the barn.

* * *

**Crookedjaw**

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust too the gloom but when they finally did, I immediatly wished they hadn't. There, in the center of the barn, tied to a chair and gagged in a dim patch on sunlight, was Oakheart. His brown hair was dirty and ragged, his clothes ripped and muddy. He had a black eye and four shallow, bloody cuts on his right arm. I almost screamed with fear for him. My own brother, battered and bloody in a haunted place that smelled of ashes and death.

I started forward but something grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I whipped around and saw Firestar staring at me. "We have to go back now!" he hissed.

"Are you crazy?" I growled. "He's right there!"

"So is his captor," Firestar reminded me. "We just came to find Oakheart and go back for backup, remember? Oakheart's captor is in this barn!"

Just then, a noise came from where Oakheart was sitting. We all ducked and stayed perfectly silent, but when nothing happened, we peaked over the top of the stacks of hay we were hiding behind and saw Oakheart shivering like crazy. Gasping, I saw dark shadows circling around my brother and heard voices whispering words I couldn't make out. Al of a sudden, my brother screamed so loudly I thought my eardrums would burst, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

The shadows disappeared and the whispers were replaced by a bone-chilling cackle. I froze as a figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light beside Oakheart. It was man with dark brown hair and chestnut skin. In his right hand, he carried a wicked-looking blade. Several more were strung along his belt along with a silver pistol. "Foolish boy," he laughed. "It is pointless to resist. The Dark Forest is powerful and many and you are only one."

His voice sounded like ice cracking, chilling me to the bone.

"You will never get me on your side," Oakheart growled through gritted teeth.

"Oh, if only that were true," the strange man continued. "I suppose you think your friends are coming for you. Well, they're not. No one will ever think to look here. I have been planning this for years and I will not let a few stupid, pitiful teenagers ruin it. You will soon be under _my_ control! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" The man laughed.

"Let's get out of here!" Thornclaw whispered.

"Go! Hurry!" Lionblaze hissed. "We've gotta leave!"

I wasn't about to argue with them. Turning, I followed them out the window and fled across the ash-covered fields, the horrible sound of the man's laughter echoing through my mind. _Who was that guy and what does he want with my brother?_

* * *

_**Sorry that chapter was a little slow. I'm trying to build up the drama a bit. Stay tuned for the rescue mission!**_

_**QQ: How many moons passed before Ravenpaw (Ravenkit) finally came out of the nursery?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	8. Chapter 8: Honeyfern's Scare

_**Yay! 10 reviews! I'm so happy! I've been receiving some questions about ships. You know, who will end up with who? Only one way to find out! Oh, and props to FanficReader876, SILVERSHADOW, MOONSHADOW, Crowpool and Ivyleap for reviewing! Love you guys!**_

_**QQA: Three moons!**_

* * *

**Cinderheart**

"Brokenstar."

I looked up from where I was sitting on a bed with Leafpool. "What?"

"His name is Brokenstar," Dovewing repeated. She'd been analyzing the camera footage and had finally found a file that matched the strange man. "According to this file, he's on the top ten most wanted list. The police have been trying to pin him down for years but he never stays in one place for long. Every time they get even remotely close to locating him, he moves again. "He has a record in stealing, smuggling, kidnapping and..." her voice dies, replaced by a look of horror. "Murder," she whispers softly.

"We should tell Bluestar," Firetsra suggested. "She'd want to know."

"You're joking, right?" I was surprise to hear Crowfeather's voice. Normally, he stayed in the shadows and let everyone else do the work. "Bluestar's freaked out as it is," he continued. "Telling her Oakheart might end up dead will only make this situation worse."

"He has a point," Graystripe spoke up. "We can't let Bluestar know the truth. Sandstorm already had to take her back to their dorm because she was crying too much!"

"So what do we tell her than?" Honeyfern asked.

Leafpool tapped her chin. "Maybe..."

Everyone's head turned to her. "Yes?" I said.

"What if we told her Brokenstar is a kidnapper? And he likes to use captives as bargaining chips against the people who want them back. That's believable, right?"

"Yeah, that'll work. Good idea," Crowfeather said.

Leafpool blushed and stared at the ground. "It's nothing," she mumbled shyly.

"I'll go tell her," Silverstream volunteered.

"Tell her she should stay behind too," Dovewing added. "So she doesn't find out truth and in case something does go wrong... I don't think she'll want to see it."

Dovewing's last words sent a shiver down my spine. Although she hadn't said it exactly, everyone knew what she meant.

"It's time," Firestar said.

We were all gathered in Dovewing and Leafpool's room. It was indeed, very large. After we'd told all of our friends about Brokenstar, They'd volunteered to either be a part of the rescue team or stay back and help Dovewing and Bluestar. Dovewing had typed up a list so everyone knew what team they were in.

_Team Red: Firestar, Crowfeather, Cinderheart, Honeyfern_

_Team Yellow: __Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, __Foxleap__, Thornclaw_

_Team Green: Graystripe, Berrynose, Hazeltail, __Lionblaze_

_Team Blue: __Crookedjaw, Ivypool, Breezepelt, Hollyleaf_

"Why am I with Ivypool and Breezepelt?" Hollyleaf complained.

A few people giggled and Breezepelt crossed his arms. Dovewing ignored them. "Because every group needs at least _one_ cat who's sensible," she responded. Her serious face just made everyone crack up even more.

"Hey! I'm sensible!" Crookedjaw protested.

"True," Dovewing said. "But the bond between siblings is strong, and I'm worried you might do something rash in the case of a possible threat to Oakheart."

"Rash?" Foxleap asked. "What does that mean?"

"In Breezepelt speak, it means stupid," Lionblaze responded.

More laughs and another displeased look from Breezepelt. "I'm not _that_ stupid," he grumbled.

"Well obviously," Lionblaze said. "Or you would've thought that was a compliment!"

"Some of your jokes are good, but most of them are terrible," Ivypool said.

"Um... are you going or not?" Dovewing spoke up. "Oakheart can't wait forever, you know."

I nodded. "Yes, come on, guys. We'd better get going."

* * *

**Honeyfern**

I shivered nervoulsy as I crouched behind the a fallen tree. Everyone was hiding outside the barn, waiting for Dovewing to give us the all clear. Squirrelfligt's voice sounded through the comm unit in my ear. "Leafpool, are you in a secure location?"

"Yes," came the quiet reply. Everyone had told her to stay behind, but she had insisted on coming with medical supplies, stating that there would prbably be some injuries and they needed someone with medical training just in case. She had promised to keep a safe distance from Brokenstar and after some arguing, everyone finally agreed to let her come.

"Okay," Dovewing's voice finally came on. "Brokenstar is heading out. We don't know why or for how long, so go as quickly and quietly as possible. I'll warn you if he's on his way back."

"Be careful," Bluestar's soft voice added. "I don't want to lose any more of you."

"We will be," I assured her. "Don't worry."

"Let's go," Firestar ordered from beside me. "And let's hurry."

Silently, everyone crept out from their hiding spots and ran towards the dark, smelly barn. The window was indeed, small. everyone had to wiggle a little to fit. "Dovewing, how long will it take for all of us to get in there?" I asked.

"About two minutes," came her reply.

"We don't have that much time!"

"You're right. Teams red and yellow, go in. The rest of you stay outside and guard the window. If Brokenstar comes back, hold him off as long as you can without taking any unnecessary risks."

"Why us?" Ivypool asked.

"Because you're teams have the best fighters. There's a reason why I put you guys on the same teams," Dovewing responded.

"Come on!" Crowfeather hissed from beside me.

Turning around, I realized everyone else was already in the barn. Quickly, I squeezed through the shttered window and into the darkness. Once inside, I blinked a few times so my eyes would adjust to the dim light. Looking around, I noticed Oakheart sitting in the center of the barn and gasped. He was exactly as the scouting patrol had described. Bloody, battered and exhausted. The only way to see was the moonlight filtering through a a hoole in the roof, probably another broken window.

I opened my mouth to say something but the others had already rushed over to Oakheart and began untying to knots of rope. Cinderheart removed the gag from his mouth and Oakheart gasped, taking in a huge gulp of fresh air. "T-that cat!" he gasped. "He'll be back soon! You need to hide!"

"No way," I said, shaking my head. "We're getting you out of here first. Bluestar is counting on us and we're not going to let her down."

"B-B-Bluestar?" Oakheart's voice was slow and shaky, as if he'd almost forgotton how to speak.

"Yes," Cinderheart murmered. "She's waiting for you at back at school. She's worried sick. Just hang on, we're going to get you back to her."

"What about Crookedjaw?" Oakheart asked, the tension gone from his voice. "Where is he?"

"Outside," I replied. "He's guarding the window."

Oakheart's eyes widened. "What if that man comes back?"

"Well, we-" I broke off as Graystripe's panicked voice came on through the comm units.

"Brokenstar is back!" he cried. "And he's got Leafpool!"

"Oh no," I whispered.

"What's going on?" Firestar shouted into the his headphone.

"He's holding a blade to Leafpool's neck. We can't attack him. You're gonna have company!" Lionblaze replied.

"He's coming in!" Cinderheart shrieked from beside me.

Glancing up, I realized in horror that Brokenstar was inside the barn, walking towards with Leafpool in an iron grip, a wicked-looking blaze held to her neck. "What do we do?" Bramblestar gasped.

Slowly, Brokenstar stalked towards us, an evil grin playing across his lips. "If you take one step closer to that boy, he growled, gesturing to Oakheart, then you can say good-bye to your little friend here," he snarled, adding the slightly bit of pressure to Leafpool's neck. One more gram of force and the skin would break.

Leafpool gulped, terrified.

"Get... away... from... him." Brokenstar growled menacingly.

Glancing behind Leafpool, I saw that the others had arrived inside the barn, a look of sheer horror on their faces. Turning back to Leafpool, I saw that her lips were moving, soundless words echoing throughout the barn. "She wants you to save Oakheart," Dovewing said through the comm units. She must have the computer lip-reading Leafpool. "She's going to die for him."

"No..." Squirrelflight whispered. "Leafpool, don't do this."

Leafpool looked at her sister, emotion brimming her eyes. She mouthed more words.

"'I'm sorry,'" Dovewing quoted. "'But we came here on a mission and I intend for us to fulfill it. For Bluestar. I'm sorry, Squirrelflight. I'll see you again, someday.'"

Everyone turned to Squirrelflight. Tears streaked down her face as she whispered, "For Bluestar. I'll miss you, Leafpool." And with that, she darted over to Oakheart and yanked on the last strand of rope, freeing him.

Brokenstar's victorious smile slowly melted into pure fury. "Fine!" he hissed. "Say good-bye to your friend." He then ran to over to some haystacks and climbed them, up towards the hole in the roof. Glancing down one last time, he snarled, "You can collect her body outside," before vanishing into the night sky.

* * *

_**I know, I know, I'm evil. But hey, it was kind of clear that someone wouldn't be walking out alive. Sorry that took so long to publish. I was super busy. Next chapter coming up soon!**_

_**QQ: Are Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight actually blood related? If so, how?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	9. Chapter 9: Squirrelflight's Shock

_**QQA: Yes! Squirrelflight's mother is Sandstorm, who's father is Redtail, who's sister is Leopardfoot, who's son is Tigerstar, who's son is Brambleclaw. Adderfang and Swiftbreeze are Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's great grandparents!**_

* * *

**Squirrelflight**

The whole world felt like it was spinning. My legs shook and my head felt dizzy. Shrieking, I collapsed. What had I done?! My own sister! Gone! And I had let it happen! How could I?! Every part of me screamed to go after my sister, but I knew that if I followed, he'd just kill her sooner. Then he'd probably kill me too.

"Squirrelflight," Bramblestar's gentle voice roused me from my state of panic. My boyfriend wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "It's all my fault," I whispered. "I shouldn't have let her go. She's gone because of me."

"It was her decision," he whispered back. "She always wanted what was best for everyone else. She knew what she was doing."

All around me, I could feel the sadness and grief of all my friends.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement. Pulling away from Brambleclaw, I made out Crowfeather's sleek shape slinking through the shadows and onto the roof. "Look!" I gasped, pointing to where he had disappeared.

"What is he doing?" Firestar whispered.

"I don't know. She's probably already gone," Cinderheart sighed.

"Revenge?" Thornclaw suggested.

We all jumped as a shriek of fury split the air. Without thinking, I jumped to my feet and scrambled up the haystacks to the roof. I could hear the others calling me back, but I ignored them. What just happened? What was Crowfeather doing? My head popped through the hole just in time for me to see Leafpool scream and slide over the edge of the roof. My caught in my throat as her hands caught the edge and she clung desperatly, her feet churning the empty air beneath her. Spotting her, Crowfeather whirled and delivered a hard kick the Brokenstar's gut, sending him over the side of the roof. Before I could react, he dashed over and grabbed Leafpool's wrist, hauling her up.

For a moment, they both stood there, panting. Looking down, Leafpool muttered, "Shoot, I lost my supplies."

Screaming with delight, I cannoned into her, hugging her as hard as I could. "You're alive!" I gasped. "I can't believe it! What were you thinking?!" I said, pulling back to face her.

She smiled. "I did what any good friend would do."

"You're the best friend anyone could ever have," I cried, hugging her again.

"Squirrelflight!" Bramblestar called as he emerged through the hole, everyone else behind him. "What happened-" he broke off as he spotted Leafpool. "What? But- how?" he stammered.

"Squirrelflight!" I giggled as a furious Cinderheart popped up. "What in the name of- LEAFPOOL!" she cried, grabbing her friend. "How are you alive?"

Leafpool smiled and pointed to Crowfeather. Cinderheart's eyes widened. Without thinking, she grabbed Crowfeather and hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" she cried.

"Careful," Lionblazed laughed to a startled Crowfeather. "She's a hugger."

Crowfeather just nodded, still silent.

"Thank you for saving my life," Leafpool murmered, turning to him.

Before Crowfeather could respond, Hollyleaf spoke up. "I hate to break this up, but where is Brokenstar?"

I hurry towards the spot where Crowfeather had kicked Brokenstar off the roof and stared at the ground below. "He's gone," I whispered. "He's not there."

"In that case, you'd better get going," Dovewing said. "I can't locate him so who knows where he is right now. Also, the school goes on lockdown in half an hour. Come back to school immediately."

"You heard her," Firestar said. "Let's go home."

* * *

**Regular**

Everyone was relieved when they finally trudged through the doors of Starlake High. Everyone who had stayed behind rushed down to greet them with hugs and relieved cheers. Bluestar threw herself into Oakheart's arms and kissed him. He hugged her back as if he would never let go. Everyone congratulated Crowfeather on saving Leafpool, laughing at how uncomfortable he looked, unused to all the attention.

Leafpool was about to hug him when he grunted and put a hand against the wall, bracing himself. Surprised, Leafpool took a cautious step towards him. "All you alright?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Crowfeather opened his mouth to reply but groaned instead, wincing in pain. "Your side!" Poppyfrost gasped, pointing to a growing blood stain on his shirt.

Crowfeather gritted his teeth, struggling to stay on his feet. Lionblaze and Thornclaw darted forward to support him. "Brokenstar must've struck him," Graystripe murmured.

"I didn't see anything!" Dovewing gasped. Turning to Crowfeather, she added, "Did you notice?"

He shook his head and groaned again.

"Come on, get him and Oakheart into the medical room," Leafpool said. "Jayfeather, come with me," she said as the blind, silver-haired boy pushed his way through the croud.

A couple of hours later, Crowfeather and Oakheart were both lying in beds in one of the medical chambers. Cords and wires were attached to Oakheart and he had many bandages and ointments smeared on his injuries. Crowfeather had a row of stitches in his side, topped with a layer bandages. His blood-stained shirt was neatly folded at the foot of the bed, producing a small, dried stain on the covers. One by one, everyone else had gone back to their dorms until only Leafpool remained. Both boys had fallen asleep and she was ready to as well.

Standing up, Leafpool walked over to where Crowfeather lay. "Thank you for saving my life," she whispered. Bending over, she gently kissed him on the forhead. Turing around, she walked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her. As soon as the doorknob clicked, Crowfeather's eyelids fluttered open. Reaching up to touch his forhead, he smiled.

* * *

_**Fooled you guys, didn't I? I love Leafpool! I would never do that! Especially not to you, Crowpool! Hope you all are enjoying the story so far!**_

_**QQ: How many kits did Nightcloud have? (Possibly a trick question, but possibly not.)**_

_**P.S.**_

_**I'm having some writer's block! If you have any ideas or there's something you want to happen, please shoot me a review or pm!**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	10. Chapter 10: A Warrior Silenced

_**Hey everyone! This chapter is short, but I'm pretty happy about it. Enjoy!**_

_**QQA: Three kits. Only Breezepelt survived.**_

* * *

**Anonymous**

It had been a long day. Exhausted, I made my way down the hall towards my dorm. Suddenly, a voice sounded behind me, startling me. "Hey, you! Can I show you something?"

I turned around and saw a girl about my age. She wore a ton of makeup and had flowing, blonde, curly hair. A friendly smile was plastered across her face. "Um, sure," I said, not wanting to be rude. "Where?"

She beckened me into a large supply closet and closed the door behind us. Flicking on the lights, a grin slowly spread across her face. My stomach dropped as she pulled a knife out of her pocket. "Who are you?!" I gasped, suddenly bterrified.

The girl took a step towards me, gripping the knife in one hand. "The end of you," she snarled menacingly. Taking aim, she threw the blade, aiming for my heart.

I gasped. Clutching my chest, I collapsed onto the floor. My eyelids flickered for a moment and I saw a red, sticky substance flowing into a steady pool on the ground beside me. Then my eyes closed and I saw only darkness.

When I finally opened them again, I saw the stars.

* * *

_**If not Leafpool, it had to be someone else. Please don't hate me when you find out who it was!**_

_**QQ: Who do you think was killed?**_

_**-Silver Shadow**_


	11. Author's Announcement

_**Author's Announcement**_

**_Hey, guys! Sorry, this isn't an update. Just a short AA segment._**

**_\+ I have a new "story." It's more like a collection. All kinds of poems! It's called: WARRIORS POETRY - EVERY KIND. Open it up for more details!_**

**_\+ If you ever have any ideas for WARRIORS HIGH SCHOOL (stuff you want to happen, characters you want to see...etc), please let me know!_**

**_\- Props to _****_ResurrectedXerenity + EllieLynx_****_ for reviewing!_**

**_~Silvemitti_**


	12. Chapter 11: Found

_**AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! IT'S BEEN OVER A WEEK! I'M SO SORRY! I was stuck, but I have an idea now! Hope you guys like it!**_

_**QQA: You're kidding, right? No spoilers!**_

* * *

**Regular**

"Where's Briarlight?" Dovewing asked. Everyone was sitting in her and Leafpool's room, still shaken from the horrible night that had taken place only a few days before.

Blossomfall shrugged. "She likes to come and go. She'll show up eventually."

Bluestar's gaze darkened. "That's what we thought when Oakheart went missing."

Ivypool rolled her eyes. "Come on, just because _one_ person was kidnapped, that means none of us can disappear for more than five minutes?"

"That's exactly what it means!" Bluestar snapped. "How would you like it if your sister disappeared all of a sudden?"

Ivypool opened her mouth to respond when the door swung open and Briarlight wheeled in. "Sorry," she panted. "Had to use the bathroom."

Ivypool cocked a thumb pointedly at Briarlight. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Bluestar grumbled and snuggled closer to Oakheart. He'd come out of the medical room only several hours earlier, still with a few bandages and bruises. Crowfeather had been warned to take it easy until his stitches came out. The dark-haired boy now leaned against the wall, his face expressionless.

"So what are we gonna do about the cat in the hamster cage?" Lionblaze asked.

Everyone turned to stare at him. "Brokenstar!" he cried, throwing his arms in the air. "You know, the evil, creepy dude that kidnapped Oakheart and tried to kill Leafpool?"

Leafpool shivered at his words. Squirrelflight hugged her sister and glared at Lionblaze. Dovewing sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. We could easily track him down, but what then? We have no way to fight him, he's obviously to good for the police, and we don't even know what he wants."

"Wait," Firestar said. "When we were out scouting, he said something about using Oakheart for something or whatever. Dovewing-" he started, but the silver-haired girl was already scrolling through the footage at lightning speed.

"Aha!" she exclaimed, pressing the play button. Everyone leaned into watch the computer screen as a clip from Firestar's comm unit appeared. It was of Oakheart being held captive in the barn appeared. Brokenstar was saying something and Dovewing turned up the volume to listen.

**"-I have been planning this for years and I will not let a few stupid, pitiful teenagers ruin it. You will soon be under _my_ control!"** Brokenstar cackled.

Dovewing paused the video and whipped around to face Oakheart. "He wanted you under his control," she whispered. "Do you know why?"

Oakheart shook his head, looking terrified. "I don't know any more than you do," he replied.

"Hmmmm... let's see if we can learn anything else," Dovewing murmered. She pulled up Brokenstar's file and began reading.

* * *

**Dovewing**

My eyes darted across the screen. It was almost as if this guy didn't exist! Nobody knew anything about him! I read the stats and file over and over again, but found nothing.

Descendant of: Shadowstar.

Known Alliances: None.

Criminal Record: Kidnapping, stealing, smuggling and murder.

Last spotted: The Dark Forest. September 22, 2034.

I squinted at the date. Suddenly, my eyes widened. September 22? 2034? That was only two days ago! I had to tell the others. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I slowly swiveled my chair around and spoke. "I know where he is."

At once, everyone jumped up and stared at me expectantly. "Yes?" Firestar asked, leaning closer excitedly.

I gulped. "The D-Dark Forest."

The room grew silent, a horrified look on everyone's face. Except for Breezepelt who hated geography. "Where now?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Lionblaze stepped forward. "The Dark Forest is by far the most dangerous place on the island."

"How bad can it be?" Breezepelt said. "I thought you said the barn as the worst place to go."

"We... forgot about the forest," I stammered. "It's a horrible place. The sun never shines there. Only gray clouds gather to bring the rain. And at night, only empty blackness shows above it, no moon, no stars. It's not just where the dark ancestors speak the loudest. When they're not in the skies, it's were their spirits _live_."

"And it's crawling with those who've been consumed by evil, like Brokenstar. Many who enter don't come back out. No one has ever escaped without fatal injuries and have died soon after," Firestar added.

Breezepelt turned pale. "W-w-we're not _going_ there, are we?"

"Of course not," Bluestar said, stepping forward. "It's far too dangerous."

"So we're just giving up?" Everyone turned, surprised to hear Briarlight talking. She wheeled forward. "He's already kidnapped Oakheart and tried to kill Leafpool," she continued. "The police have been tracking him for years. He's obviously a huge threat. And we're just going to sit down and do nothing? Isn't there anything we can do to help? What if he comes back? What if this time he kills everybody? What does he want with Oakheart?"

Silence greeted her words. Then, Bumblestripe spoke up. "She has a point. What else can we do? What kind of people will we be if we do nothing?"

"But why the Dark Forest?" Silverstream murmured. "Why there?"

"Because it's the only place where no one will follow," I muttered darkly.

I jumped as a hand settled on my shoulder. I looked up to see my sister, a confident expression on her face. "Not anymore. We're going after him," she declared.

For one long moment, everyone just stared. Then slowly, one by one, they all nodded. "But how will we defeat them?" Honeyfern wondered. "I mean, he must have allies in there, right?"

Ivypool smiled. "We'll win because Breezepelt and I are going to spy."

* * *

_**See what I did there? A little connection to the books!**_

_**QQ: Who were all FOUR of Ivypool's Dark Forest mentors? I know, I'm so evil!**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	13. Chapter 12: Into The Shadows

_**I will continue this story after a quick RR!**_

_**So, our first RR is for a guest! They said, **__**"why they don't just call the police?"**_

_**Well, since the police have spent years trying quite unsuccessfully to track down Brokenstar and Dovewing succeeded in only a few minutes, you can kind of see the problem here. The teens feel like the police aren't a very reliable source and they know that if they tell the police about this, they'll just get ordered to stay out of it until the case is solved and who knows how long that could take. They want to be involved because they're worried about each other. Does that answer your question, **__**Guest**__**?**_

_**QQA: Hawkfrost, Mapleshade, Thistleclaw and Shredtail**_

* * *

**Breezepelt**

"Are we really doing this?" I was shaking so hard I thought I might fall over.

Ivypool whipped around to face me and hissed. "Yes! Now keep your voice down!"

We were crounching behind some bushes that reeked of dead animals. We'd arrived in the Dark Forest only a couple of hours earlier and had been waiting for someone to walk by so we could begin our plan. I wrinkled my nose. "Man, it stinks here!"

"Gee, I didn't notice," Ivypool retorted, rolling her eyes, then froze. "Do you here that?" she whispered.

I stiffened as I heard the sound of leaves crunching somewhere nearby. "Someone's coming," I whispered back.

"Ya think? Do you remember your character?"

I nodded. The others had come up with personalities for us to mimic and fake identities. Dovewing had even hacked into the Starlake Island mother computer where they kept files on every single person on the island and created folders for our fake characters. "Just in case," she'd said when we asked her what the heck she was thinking.

Ivypool was supposed to be a cruel and ruthless girl named Violetshadow, and I was a nervous boy who'd been bullied and hated everyone, which worked for me. I knew that I'd be too nervous and scared to put up a tough cover and was satisfied with my character selection. My new name was Nightwhisker. We'd also gotten outfits that suited our personality. I was wearing a dark gray hoodie with dark blue jeans and black sneakers. Ivypool wore a black jacket, black leggings and black knee-high leather boots, no heels. Honestly, that was what she usually wore anyway.

Suddenly, Ivypool tugged on my sleeve and motioned for me to get up. Standing, I noticed she was staring at a tree, hard. "What're you staring at?" I whispered.

"There's someone hiding behind that tree," she responded. "I saw them duck behind it."

"So... are we going over there?"

"Of course we are! Now get into character! As soon as we say hello, there won't really be anywhere safe to talk about our real plans. No communication with the others. We're on our own now."

_We're on our own now._ Her words sent a shiver down my spine, but I followed her over to the large tree where someone was apparently hiding.

"Hey!" Ivypool barked. "Get out here!"

I spotted movement behind the trunk and gasped as a girl stepped into the open. She had strawberry colored hair and worea red t-shirt with ligth blue jeans. Her orange sneakers were dirty and worn and she wore an expression of pure anger and hatred. She was younger than us, probably still in middle school, but she scared the living daylights out of me. How could one so small bear so uch anger?

Somehow, Ivypool did not seem at all intimidated. She flashed me a warning look before turning to the girl.

Teh girl glared at us. "What do you want?" the she growled, her voice hard and cold.

Ivypool glared rigth back. "You got somebody that's in charge aroung here?" she hissed slowly, with the same amount of coldness.

The girl looked slightly surprised by Ivypool's reaction. I guess she was used to people being afraid of her. I couldn't blame her. "What do you care?" she challenged.

"That a yes or a no?" Ivypool responded through gritted teeth.

Unexpectedly, the girl's expression changed. All the hostility disappeared from her face, leaving only defeat.

Ivypool stepped back, surprised. "Huh?" she asked, still not changing her tone.

The girl sighed. "We do have a leader. He's real mean. My mentor taught me to act cruel and tough when he's around. Same with new people. It's hard. I can't do it for long. Seems you're better at it than me. Don't tell anyone. I gotta keep my reputation or I might get kicked outta here."

"Why are you here in the first place?" I asked, confused.

The girl looked up at me. "Don't get me wrong, I got anger. Lots of it. Some people got way more though, so I act tough so they'll leave me alone. That's how it's always been. Only my mentor knows this. I'm not pleasent to be around either way, so don't go thinkin' I'm all nice an' stuff. Others just got more hate."

Ivypool shrugged. "Not that I really care."

The girl looked relieved. "Good. Now I got a question for you. Why're _you_ here?"

"The real world is boring. Nothing ever happens. Just people being all nicey nicey and freaking out whenever something actually does happen. Thought I'd find stuff to do here."

The girl nodded slowly. "And you?" she said, turning to me.

It was like something snaped into place at that moment. I knew exactly what to say. "Too much exposal. Everyone wants to know everything about you. No personal space. Everyone's all nosy and stuff. I'm trying to get away from that."

"So?" Ivypool said. "Can you take us to this leader of yours?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. He always wants to meet the new people. Put up a good impression. First impressions decide your fate around here. You impress him, you're in. If not, you gota leave."

"...And if you don't?" I asked.

She turned around, her amber eyes burning into mine. "They'll kill you. You try to come back, they'll kill you. You get in and then try to leave, they'll kill you. Nothing comes without a penalty. So I ask you, you sure you wanna do this?"

Ivypool nodded. "Definitely."

"Yeah, definitely," I echoed.

The girl nodded. "Okay. I'm Amberpaw, by the way. You are?"

"Violetshadow," Ivypool answered.

"Nightwhisker," I responded.

"Let's go," Amberpaw said, vanishing into the trees. Ivypool nodded to me and followed her.

I gulped. This was it. This determined whether I would stay or. Whether Ivypool would do this with a partner or alone. I couldn't fail. I couldn't. If I did, all of Starlake Island would be in terrible danger.

* * *

_**QQ: How old do you think I am?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	14. Chapter 13: Hollyleaf's Worry

_**This one is pretty short, guys. Just filling in a few gaps.**_

_**QQA: 13!**_

* * *

**Hollyleaf**

I paced nercously across the carpet, worry hovering over me like a pestering raincloud about to dump. I was in Dovewing and Leafpool's room because I was worried but Dovewing just said not to worry and that she trusted her sister and all the things you'd expect someone to say.

"I know!" I hollered as Dovewing began saying this for the fourth time. "You've told already! I know you trust your sister! So do I! But that doesn't change th fact that she and Breezepelt are in a dark, smelly, death-filled place crawling with evil people including the guy who tried to kidnap and murder my friends! I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH ANYONE GOING IN THERE!"

Dovewing recoiled, surprised.

I sighed. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Don't," she said, shushing me. "Look, we don't communication. It's too risky to give them cameras. We've only got the tiny one they put in that tree. That's the only way they can send us messages. If it's something important, they can whisper or flash a note in front of the camera but other than that, we've got nothing. So I'm sorry if you're worried, we all are. There's just nothing we can do but wait and hope they succeed, which they will. I know my sister. She never back down from challenge. They WILL succeed."

I looked up at Dovewing with tears in my eyes. "It's not just that," I whispered. "There's something else."

Worry flashed across Dovewing's face. "What?" said asked, leaning closer.

I gulped before leaning forward and whispering in her ear, "I haven't told this to anyone yet, but yesterday I went to get supplies to clean my window and when I opened the door to the supply closet... there was a giant pool of blood."

* * *

_**Duh duh duh...! They found the site of the murder! Who do you think was killed? You will find out... eventually! :3**_

_**QQ: Who was Mapleshade's mate?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	15. Chapter 14: First Impressions

_**Hello everyone! Updates may be a little slow for the next few weeks because I have yet another huge project. I have to write a story! I'm either very lucky or very stressed because I'm trying to juggle WARRIORS HIGH SCHOOL, WARRIORS POETRY and just school right now. Let me just say, I'm not very skilled at juggling! :3**_

_**Props to **__**Azrakatz**__** and **__**Duskspiral**__** for reviewing! Thank you!**_

_**QQA: Appledusk!**_

* * *

**Hawkfrost**

You know what I like about the Dark Forest? It's satisfying. Whenever I get bored, I'll just wait by the edge of thhe woods for some idiot to walk too close and jump out with my knife. Plenty of prey in the forest. I have developed a taste for fish especially.

Our leader is fantastic. Well, two leaders. One of them is powerful, ruthless and AWESOME and the other is cold, grumpy and... well... shady. No one dares get in his way. Honestly, he could probably beat our other leader in a battle. He has no soul. Then again, does anyone have a soul here? This is for those who see the true glory in life. Taking other life. It makes you feared. It gives you power. All those other weaklings are pathectic and useless. May all there feathery bones turn to dust.

Yes, the Dark Forest is truly a wonderful place to be.

I said this to my friend Thistleclaw one day as we were relaxing in the shade beneath an oak tree. The forest is almost completely shade and trees with the exception of the Darkpool. It's in the center of the only clearing in the forest where we gather each night of the full moon and the spirits of our great ancestors who discovered the Dark Forest come to speak with us. There are contests to see who is the best fighter and joking and feasting.

Anyway, Thistleclaw agreed with me. We were both elite warriors in the Dark Forest. You gain the title of elite by becoming one of the best fighters. Each meeting at the Darkpool, if there are two apprentices who are ready to become warriors, as we call them, they must succeed in defeating a current warrior. They fight with unsheathed claws but no killing so as to keep our numbers great. If the apprentice passes the test, they recieve a warrior name or gain the title of a warrior if they already have their full name.

However, to become an elite warrior, it's different. Two warriors fight at the Darkpool but this time, it's to the death. It's the only way to truly prove yourself. By showing you will kill anyone to stay with the Dark Forest. You also cannot take the test for elite warrior before having an apprentice of your own. It shows that you can give orders and command others whenever necessary.

Thistleclaw and I were incharge of watching the apprentices and warriors to decide which ones were ready for their tests. We were discussing this when strawberry-haired girl pushed her way through the trees. I recognized her as Amberpaw. "Thistleclaw. Hawkfrost," she greeted us with a polite bow before gesturing towards the bushes behind her. "I found two more. They want to join the Dark Forest," she declared.

Thistleclaw narrowed his eyes. "Did they seem alright?"

Amberpaw nodded. "Nightwhisker, he hates people. They were cruel to him and he wants to learn how to make them pay for it. Violetshadow said the outside world is boring. Said she was hoping there'd be more _fun_ stuff to do here."

I nodded slowly. "These two are where?"

Amberpaw glanced over her shoulder as a boy emerged, followed closely by a girl. He had a nervous shiver to him as he walked, but determination shone in his eyes. And the girl, the tamest word I could think of was _hostile_.

Amberpaw turned to them. "This is Thistleclaw and Hawkfrost, two of our elite warriors. They can take you to Tigerstar."

The girl nodded.

"Why have you come here?" Thistleclaw hissed.

To my surprise, the girl retorted ina sharp, tight tone, "None of your business."

"It is my business if you're going to end up staying here," Thistleclaw growled.

The girl lifted her chin. "You're not the leader here, so you don't have the right to tell me what to do."

"I am an elite warrior!" Thistleclaw exclaimed, anger burning in his eyes. "I most certainly have right to tell you what to do!"

"You command your apprentices and fellow warriors. I'm not one of them yet, so for now, I'll command myself."

I couldn't help snorting with amusement. This was someone I could work with. Thistleclaw whipped around and glared at me. "Aren't you going to agree with me?"

"Why would I side with someone who's wrong?" I snorted.

The girl gestured to her companion. "I'm Violetshadow. This is Nightwhisker. We want to join you. Amberpaw said that Tigerstar can grant this to us."

"What will you do if we don't take you to him?" Thistleclaw smirked. I could tell he was testing them, trying to find a weakness.

Violetshadow opened her mouth to respond but I held up my hand. "Actually, I want to hear what he has to say." So far, this Nightwhisker had just stood there, not uttering a single word.

Violetshadow nodded to Nightwhisker and he stepped forward. Thistleclaw turned to him. "So? What will you do?"

Nightwhisker thought for a moment before replying: "This Tigerstar sounds powerful. He probably wants his numbers as great as possible, yes?"

Thistleclaw nodded. "What does that matter?"

Nightwhisker smiled. "How will he react when he finds out you discovered two new recruits and turned them away?"

Thistleclaw stepped back, surprised. Amberpaw let out a muffled giggle. "I say we take them to the Darkpool tonight. It'll be a full moon. It's the perfect oppertunity to test them," I said.

"What's the test?" Violetshadow asked.

I smiled. "Simple. All you have to do to become an apprentice is fight a warrior."

Violetshadow snorted. "What kind of dumb test is that?"

Amberpaw stared at her. "The warriors here are very well trained and highly skilled in battle. You don't just have to fight one of them. You have to _win."_

* * *

_**Not one of my best chapters. I'm just trying to build up the drama. Here's one spoiler: Something interesting happens at the Darkpool.**_

_**QQ: **__**DappledleafTheBootiful**__** says: Who was Appledusk's RiverClan mate?**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	16. AA Segment

_**Hello! Sorry, no update yet! I'm working on it! This is just another AA segment. So! Let's start, shall we?**_

_**\+ One of my top supporters is **__**FreeEcho**__** who is writing a story called "The Sandlot Sisters," based off the move The Sandlot. You don't need to have watched the movie to read the story, but the movie is funny! **__**FreeEcho**__**'s story is hilarious and I strongly recommend it!**_

_**\+ Still asking everyone to check out my other story, WARRIORS POETRY!**_

_**This is my mascot, STARKITTI ~ :3 Every now and then I'll look at everyone's reviews and thank them by giving them one STARKITTI for each review! Here we go!**_

_**Pebbleleap**__** \- :3 :3 :3 :3 :3**_

**_Thistlefur_****_ \- :3 :3 :3_**

**_Azrakatz_****_ \- :3 :3_**

**_Duskspiral_****_ \- :3 :3_**

_**DappledleafTheBootiful**__** \- :3**_

**_MOONSHADOW_****_ \- :3_**

_**Special props for **__**Pebbleleap**__** with 5!**_

_**THANK YOU EVERYONE!**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	17. Chapter 15: Mapleshade's Reveal

_**Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry if it's been awhile! I was saving this chapter for today! Please enjoy it and check out the special poems I posted on WARRIORS POETRY for today too! Love you all!**_

_**QQA: Reedshine!**_

* * *

**Ivypool**

I grumbled as I sat behind a large oak tree that surrounded the clearing. It had been hours since Breezepelt and I had arrived at the Dark Forest and so far, no useful information about Brokenstar had come up. I had tried asking Hawkfrost about him once, but it hadn't worked. The conversation had gone something like this:

"This Brokenstar, what's he do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Does he train people? Plan stuff? Go on missions? Anything?"

"Missions?"

"I don't know. Does he do anything?"

"Why do you ask?"

"'Cuz so far he just seems like a boring lump of flesh that only sits in the shadows and glares at people, yet he's still a leader."

"Don't let him hear you say that."

"So does he actually do anything then?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Fine."

_I guess I can't really blame him_, I thought. If someone randomly showed up at Starlake High I probably wouldn't jump up screaming our biggest secrets like a badger-brain. Still, I was eager to find answers and get out of this dump of a forest as soon as possible. Unfortunatly, Dovewing had warned them that she has no idea how long they coud be stuck in the forest. "Days, weeks, months, even," her sister had said. "We might have to get creative with our excuses if you're gone that long."

I shivered at the thought of spending more than a day in this place. The entire thing was just trees, swamps, mud, grass and more trees. The sky was barely visible through the tree-tops and each tree seemed to be taller than the other. The only thing Firestar had been wrong about was the sun. It filtered through the gaps in the branches, allowing some sort of visibility.

I did have to admit, the Darkpool was pretty cool. The water was illuminated by the moon as radiantly as the Moonstone and Moonpool. There was a boulder next to the pool that in a way, represented a Darkstone, only it didn't show as brightly. Everyone was eating and laughing and having a good time. For a few minutes, the place almost seemed... normal.

That is, until I actually listened to their conversations. "Sliced the head right of that stupid man," I heard one woman say.

"They didn't even stand a chance," another person said.

Breezepelt seemed a little shaken too. He was sitting a few fox-lengths away, glancing around nervously every few moments. I got up and walked over to a group of hunters that were getting ready to leave. "Hey, can my friend tag along? He's pretty good with a gun wants to bring down bigger game."

Surprisingly, the hunters nodded and said he could come. One of them tossed a rifle to me and I nodded my thanks before taking it to Breezepelt. "They're hunting for food. Thought you could use some fun," I said, cocking a thumb at the group. There's a kid there that looks our age. Go join them."

Breezepelt hesitated, clearly scared. I rolled my eyes. "I've seen you shoot soda cans fifty yards away at camp. If this doesn't go well for you then Foxleap is Supreme Leader of the island."

After an impatient grumble from the hunters and a shove from me, Breezepelt joined the hunters and left. Satisfyed, Ivypool sat back down, this time facing the party.

"Hey!" A voice said from beside me, making me jump.

Turning, I saw a boy about her age leaning against the tree beside hers. "You're new here aren't you?" he said.

I nodded. The boy had short, ruffled hair the color of ginger. He was dressed in a black hoodie with gray sweatpants and orange sneakers. _Huh. He's pretty cute_, I thought. "Wait, how'd you know I was new?" I asked.

"People who're already here know to party when they can," he said, shrugging.

"So why aren't you?"

"My friends are doing other stuff right now."

"What do you mean 'stuff?'"

"I dunno."

I sighed. "So when's the real point of this gathering start?"

He shrugged again. "Whenever Tigerstar and Brokenstar decide to show up. Sometimes we're here til midnight. Not that it makes much of a difference."

"Not much of a difference."

"Yeah. There's so little light here you can eat or sleep whenever you want. Unless you're an apprentice and you have a training session."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Fourteen. You?"

"Same."

Suddenly, everyone started cheering as two dangerous-looking men stepped out of the shadows. Slowly, they approached the boulder and climbed up, staring at the croud like it a leader about to lead an army into battle. Both of them were heavily armed and I flinched as I recognized Brokenstar.

"Ah. We're starting." The boy observed. You're better get to the front. They always call out new people during these."

"Hey!" I called out as he started to walk away.

He stopped and turned his head, his brown eyes piercing mine. "I'm Fernsong by the way. You are?"

Standing up, I looked at him and replied, "Violetshadow."

* * *

**Mapleshade**

In the shadow of a boulder a figure stood, silent and still as the sky above. Going unnoticed by all as they listened to the welcoming ceremony. I waited patiently in the skies with the other ancestors, preparing for my signal to go down.

"Tonight is a good night," Tigerstar bellowed. "For while there are no advancement tests to be taken tonight, there are two recruiting tests. Extra credit to Amberpaw for finding them and bringing them to us!"

The shadowy figure stared at the young red-headed girl as she smiled and recieved congratulations and pats on the back from the surrounding Dark Forest members. "Hawkfrost," Tigerstar continued, adressing the young man. "Please call our recruits up."

The dark-haired man stepped forward and gestured to the croud. "Please welcome, Nightwhisker and Violetshadow!"

The croud watched as a young teenage boy emerged from the shadows. He was holding a hunting rifle and had determination in his steps, although the figure in the shadows could see the fear in his eyes. Scoffing, she turned her back and faced the boulder just as a gasp rippled through the croud, causing her to turn back around.

Following the boy was a girl that looked to be about the same age. Only this one had real hostility in her eyes a force in her walk. The figure watched as Tigerstar addressed them and chose two warriors for them to fight. "First, Nightwhisker will battle Hollowflight for a place in the Dark Forest!"

The croud drew back into a circle as a warrior stepped forward and faced the boy. He gave a menacing snarl and lunged, tackling the Nightwhisker to ground and punching him in the chest. Nightwhisker gasped as the air left his lungs and crouched, panting.

Hollowflight started forward again but Tigerstar motioned him back. "Wait. I want to see what he will do."

Nightwhisker glanced around. He seemed to be searching for something the figure didn't know what. Suddenly, he froze and fixed his eyes on a long vine that dangled from a nearby tree. He glanced at Violetshadow who nodded in turn, a small smile playing across her lips. Quick as lightning, Nightwhisker darted to the side and yanked the vine from the tree. Swinging it over his head like a lasso, he whipped it at Hollowflight who collapsed with a grunt as the vine wound tight around him. Nightwhisker ran forward and pinned him down, preventing him from getting up. Hollowflight writhed and growled but it was clear that he was stuck.

"We have a winner!" Tigerstar bellowed. "Nightwhisker, welcome to the Drak Forest!"

The crowd cheered as Nightwhisker beamed proudly at the Darkstone where the two leaders stood. "And now," Tigerstar began, "Violetshadow!"

The crowd cheered again as the hostile-looking girl stepped forward, getting into position to fight. It was clear that she had no intention in using her wits. Rather her feet and fists. "Antpelt will be fighting Violetshadow," Tigerstar announced.

A muscular, brown-haired figure stepped forward and faced Violetshadow, an evil grin spreading across his face. Snarling, he leaped towards Violetshadow and aimed apunch at her gut. She blocked it so easily it was pathetic. Fast as a mouse, she spun and kicked him in the face with her heel. The sound of leather on flesh echoed through the trees as Antpelt fell to the ground, blood gushing from his nose.

He tried to get up but Violetshadow slammed a foot down on his back and pinned him down. Rising, she casually dusted her hands off and said, "So when do I get to do any fun stuff?"

The crowd was silent, shocked by her amazing performance. Suddenly, Brokenstar hissed from the Darkstone, "Yessssssss. This one will do."

"Indeed she will," Tigerstar agreed. "They both will. Congratulations to both of you on passing your tests. Now me must assign you both mentors to teach you all the nessasary skills you will need to become a full warrior of the Dark Forest. Nightwhisker, you like to use your wits in battle. Your mentor will be Thistleclaw. As for you, Violetshadow, you need someone who specializes in combat. Your mentor will be... Hawkfrost."

The two elite warriors stepped up to the Darkstone and bowed to Tigerstar before melting back into the shadows. "And now, for the most important part of the gathering," Tigerstar continued. "The sharing of the ancestors!"

The croud roared as dark mist began to swirl around, weaving their way through the trees and settling by the pool. Nightwhisker stepped back, surprised, while Violetshadow remained expressionless. The mist materialized into the figures of the past, armed with weapons and a bloodthirsty look in their eyes.

"Greetings," they hissed in unison. "We bring a message tonight. We have forseen this in the Darkpool and come to tell you now, great changes await you. Great ones. Listen to these words carefully and do not forget them." With that, the ancestors disappeared one by one until only one remained. Me. I floated my way up to the Darkstone and stood in front of Tigerstar, addressing the croud.

"Greetings. I kept my voice as icy and cold as the arctic plains. "I am Mapleshade. I was one of the first residents of the Dark Forest, and now I bring you a prophecy. Lissssssssssten and remember these words," I hissed as I began chanting the prophecy.

_When clouds disappear, the sun comes out_

_When blue turns to black, the stars_

_Wherever there's darkness there will also be light_

_But we still can take what is ours_

_From the shadows, a figure emerges_

_From the battles, a hero shines bright_

_Although shimmering silver, she sides with us_

_And can grant us eternal night_

I finished with a bone-chilling grin before disappearing into thin air. Beside the boulder, having heard everything, the figure smiled. The outside world stood no chance. They were blind to the traitor that lived among them. Their darkest hour would soon be upon them and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

* * *

_**What do you think Mapleshade was talking about? Why did the mysterious figure mention a traitor? Next chapter coming soon!**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	18. Chapter 16: Walking Without Stars

**Ivypool**

I flashed through the trees at lightning speed, my breath coming in short, shallow gasps. I'd been on the move since dawn (Sunrise? Sunhigh? Who knows). Training here was brutal and unforgiving, the warriors of the Dark Forest were as ruthless as the everlasting darkness. Shots sounded behind me and I heard wood splintering and bullets ricocheting off rocks. The shouts and orders from behind her grew closer. I sailed over a small murky stream, my boots landing with a _thunk_ on the other side and she took off running again.

_Gotta find a way to loose them,_ I thought. _Can't run forever. _My eyes darted from side to side as I frantically scanned the trees for a hiding spot. _There._ I spotted a tall dark oak tree with leafy branches. The best part, it was surrounded by a ton of other tall oak trees with leafy branches.

I veered off to the right and headed in another direction, relieved when I heard figures skidding on the leaves and turning to follow me. Suddenly, a bright bolt of pain shot through my arm, like being struck by lightning. I hissed furiously and gritted my teeth against the pain. I jumped and planted my foot on a nearby rock, pushing off and turning around again, heading back to the dark oak trees, footsteps pounding behind me.

The moment I reached the one I was looking for, I leaped and latched onto the lowest branch, heaving my way up to the next one. I climbed as fast as I could, scrambling from one branch to another until I reached the highest one that could support my weight. I crouched, panting and praying theat my persuers hadn't seen me. I stayed perfectly still as voices sounded below my hiding place.

"Where'd she go?"

"I don't see her."

"Coward. Hiding instead of fighting."

I growled inwardly. _I'm no coward. I got no gun, and they do, so what do they expect? I gift-wrap myself and shout 'Merry Christmas'? _Suddenly, another blinding bolt of pain scorched my right leg and I bit my tongue to keep the agonized hiss from escaping. I glanced down and saw Fernsong looking up at me, a thin whisp of steam trailing from the end of his gun. "Found her," he called to the others.

I growled and jumped down from the tree, clutching my injured arm and shifting my weight off my leg. One of the trainers stepped forward and smirked. "Bad idea stuffing yourself in a tree like that. Your enemies will have you cornered before you can say 'mouse'."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Snowtuft."

The white-haired warrior grumbled and turned around, signalling for the rest of the group to follow. "Come on, we're going back to base camp," he grumbled.

Fernsong fell back to walk with me while I tried to pry the bullet out of my arm. "Nice aim," I grumbled, spotting him out of the corner of my eye.

He nodded. "Thanks." After a moment's pause, he fished into his pocket and pulled out a pair of tweezers. "So," he said, handing the tweezers to me. "I'd expected a bigger reaction from you when you were shot multiple times."

I started poking at my wound and replied, "Whaddaya mean?"

Fernsong shrugged. "I don't know, maybe you give off some message that you're in pain?"

I growled. "And let my enemies think that I'm weakened? I don't think so."

"Well, does it hurt?"

"Are you not clear on the concept of not showing weakness?"

"We're not enemies, so it doesn't matter."

"In case you haven't noticed, everyone here acts like they hate each other."

"Not everyone."

"Enough of them do."

"How many is that?"

"Ask me one more aggrivating question and you'll never find out."

He chuckled. "Alright, alright. I give up."

I let out a grunt of triumph as I finally managed to pry the bullet free from my arm. I glanced down at my injured leg. "Do I have to wait 'til we get back to base to sit down and get this thing out?"

Fernsong shrugged. "I dunno. But my advice: wait. If you casually walk in with a bullet in your leg, it might make a good impression on the elites."

"Alright," I grumbled. He did have a point. So far, I had managed to earn a little respect by acting as tough and careless as possible. I couldn't say the same for Breezepelt though. He seemed to be doing everything he could to stay invisible. All I could do was pray it was part of some genius plan he had. _Stealthy and sneaky,_ I thought. _Maybe that's it._

Fernsong, however, was harder to figure out. He appeared to be tough, cunning, cowardly and laid back all in one. It was rather confusing. Everyone else was was "death, death, kill, kill, DIE".

I shrugged. After all, it was exactly how she'd expected them to be. _They're nothing like my friends, _I observed_. The total opposite of Dovewing for sure._ I had often thought about everyone I'd left behind at school and wondered how they were getting on. _I hope they're all right,_ I thought._ I wonder what they're doing right now..._

* * *

**Firestar**

I paced back and forth across the room. _What is taking her so long?_ I wondered. Everyone was sitting in Dovewing's dorm as she scrolled through the camera footage of the Dark Forest. I walked over to Ivypool's sister and said, "Find anything?"

Dovewing shook her head. "Nope. Just wind-blown branches and the occasional mouse."

I sighed. "Great. Just great. No messages, no updates, nothing usefu-"

"Wait!" Dovewing's excited cry cut him off.

Everyone's head snapped around to look at the Dovewing. "What?" I asked. "What is it?"

Dovewing smiled. "Ivypool sent us a message!" She tapped into the large TV on the wall so everyone could watch the short clip. It showed a scratched up, dirt-smeared Ivypool emerging from the trees and heading towards the camera. She kept glancing from side to side to make sure no one was watching, then unfolded a small piece of paper and held a hand-written message up to the camera. Dovewing paused to video so they could all read the jagged letters outlined against the paper:

WE'RE IN. CONFUSING PROPHECY DELIVERED. SOMETHING ABOUT A CHOSEN ONE GRANTING ETERNAL DARKNESS. I'LL SHOW YOU NEXT TIME. TRAINING IS BRUTAL.

Dovewing hit the play button and Ivypool took the message down and stuffed it in her pocket. She then held up one arm and everyone gasped. A single bloody hole was stamped into the middle. It was obviously a bullet-hole. Ivypool glanced behind her one last time before turning around and disappearing into the shadows.

Dovewing sat back, shocked. "I- what- a prophecy? Eternal darkness? Does that mean the Drak Forest is gaining power? Is there going to be a battle? How..." she trailed off, wide-eyed with fear.

Graystripe spoke up next. "What about Ivypool and Breezepelt? That bullet-hole..."

I shuffled my feet nervously on the carpet. "Well, she said she'd give us the prophecy later. Maybe she mis-interpreted it?"

Dovewing sighed, still horror-struck. "I just- I knew it would be dangerous but I never imagined... my own sister..." she broke off and pressed her face into her hands, beginning to sob.

Squirrelflight hurried over and wrapped her arms around Dovewing, mumuring encouraging words. Bramblestar stood up. "Even if we don't know exactly what this means, we have to try to figure this prophecy out, what it may be about. Those two are risking their lives for us. We owe it to them to do everything in our power to help in any way possible."

I nodded, admiring the other student's courage. "Well said. You're right. We'll-"

I was cut off for the second time that day by a loud ruckus coming from out in the hallway. The sound of glass shattering and something heavy tipping over, followed by another series of crashed and shatters. "What in the name of StarClan...?" Graystripe started.

The door flew open and Thornclaw dashed in, panting hard and bleeding from a small cut on his forhead, probably from the broken glass. Hollyleaf jumped up and hurried over to him. "Hey, what happened? Are you okay?"

Thornclaw paused for a moment, gasping for breath. "I was just... in the hallway," he struggled to speak. "I saw a closet door open... so I went to close it... there was no one in there... but there was..." he shivered and slumped onto the floor, shaking.

"Come on," Hollyleaf coaxed him gently. "What was there?"

Thornclaw looked up, terror reflected in his amber eyes. "A giant pool of blood."

* * *

**_YEE, YEE, YEE IT'S BEEN FOREVER! I'M SOOOOO SORRY! MANY, MANY, MANY DIFFICULTIES! Updates may not be too frequent due to the current conditions- you probably know what I'm talking about. THAT WILL NEVER- AND I MEAN NEVER- HAPPEN AGAIN. I PROMISE! I hope you all are doing well! I love you all!_**

**_Special acknowledgements for everyone who's supported me through all of this!_**

**_-Silver Speaker_**


	19. Chapter 17: Friend or Foe

_**Whew! I have finished half of my many writing assignments in class. I was also suffering from a severe case of writer's block, but I have an idea of how the next few chapters will go. Thank you all for being so patient! :3**_

* * *

**Breezepelt**

Exhausted, I stumbled into the clearing. My limbs felt weak and my stomach growled so loudly I could've sworn it was scaring off all the prey. I looked up and spotted a silver-haired girl in a black outfit and quickened my pace. She turned around as I approached and nodded. "Hey. I haven't seen you in days. What happened?"

We'd been in the Dark Forest for over a week and training seemed to only be getting worse. I sighed, remembering my mentor's latest training exercise. "Thistleclaw threw me in a 20-foot deep pit for a week to see if I'd survive." I shook my head. "I had to live off berries, rain, and the occasional mouse. He even tossed in a Dark Fang."

Dark Fangs were one of the two dog breeds the Dark Forest used. Dark Fangs had short fur ranging from black to brown to pure white. They had wrinkled faces and stalky, muscular builds and short, heavy tails. Their ears were pricked with floppy tips and they had a ferocious snarl. The Dark Fangs were mainly used for combat training and ambushes. I'd seen Ivypool fight one during a training session and she'd nearly lost an arm.

The other dog breed kept by the Dark Forest were called Shadow Fangs. With their tall, lean bodies and sleek muscles, they were substancially bigger. They had long muzzles and pricked, pointy ears. Their short, glossy coats came in black and different shades of ginger. The Dark Forest used them mostly for hunting and sneak attacks as they could easily slip through the trees unnoticed. That's where they got their name.

If one was mentioning both breeds, however, they simply used the term "Fangs". The Dark Forest also didn't cross-breed. Every time they ended up with a hybrid, they killed it.

I never wanted to fight a Fang as long as I lived.

Ivypool growled. "It seems clear they couldn't care less if we died turning training. Or anytime."

I slumped my shoulders. "Yeah. I didn't think anyone in this world could be so... _ruthless_," I said, lowering my voice. I sighed. "What'd Hawkfrost do to you?"

"Shoved me into the thickets and had warriors hunt me down with guns. I swear I've been shot at least a dozen times."

I froze, shocked. "Really? He did that? That's even worse than my training!"

Ivypool shrugged. "Then again, what'd you expect? I mean, it's the Dark Forest."

I nodded and sighed again. "I know, it's just that-" I broke off as she suddenly grabbed my wrist and hauled me into the shadows, behind a large boulder.

"Listen," she hissed into my ear. "I got the prophecy to the others, I told them we're in, and I told them how horrible this place is."

My eyes widened as I listened intently. "You... you got them the prophecy..."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's what I said."

I decided to ignore her usual sarcastic response. "Speaking of the prophecy... what do you think it means?" I shivered at the memory of that spirit cat's ominous voice and slithering hiss. It gave me goosebumps.

Ivypool, ever so helpful, shrugged. "I dunno. Don't really care either. Not my business, not my problem."

I sighed. I'd been struck by a thought a few days earlier but hadn't had the guts to say it aloud. I turned my head to look at her and whispered: "She said: although she shines silver, she sides with us." Nervously, I glanced at her moon-colored hair and made a hesitant gesture.

"Oh, please," she snorted. "That can't be me. I just got here."

I knew what she really meant. _"I'm already betraying them so it can't be me." _Unfortunately, doubt still clawed at my belly. Silver hair wasn't exactly common, and Ivypool wasn't the most chill person on the island.

"Besides," she scoffed, snapping me out of my moment of doubt. "There's bound to be another silver-haired girl here. We're not _that_ uncommon," she grumbled, seemingly reading my mind.

I grumbled impatiently. "I know, but we need to be considering all possiblities. Besides, you don't know-"

* * *

**Ivypool**

_Blah, blah, blah..._ Breezepelt's annoying voice evaporated out of my head. He was so boring. Always worry _this _and what about _that _and it's-probably-impossible-but-since-there's-at-least-a-one-percent-chance-we-should-take-this-seriously EVERYTHING. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder why I'd even thought bringing him with me would be a good idea. Yeah, he was exceptionally smart and cunning when he needed to be but otherwise? THE. WORST.

Every time a twig snapped he jumped ten feet into the air and whirled around like an assassin was after him. It was SO ANNOYING.

He started babbling about how we should always prepare for the worst when suddenly, a new voice slithered in above us. It was bone-chilling and dead. It felt like icicles stabbing my ears and squeezing my skull. Breezepelt winced and we both glanced up. There, crouching on top of the boulder, was a girl slightly younger than us (I think). She wore an amused smirk and covered her head in a dusty, blue hoodie.

"What you don't know..." she hissed slowly. "...Is that I just heard your entire conversation."

I slumped beneath the large oak tree, scowling at an ugly blue tree frog that rested nearby, clinging to the trunk of a dead pine tree. I huffed as I recalled Breezepelt's and my earlier conversation (well, mostly a contest to see who could scowl better) with that ice-voiced girl.

I remembered that I had exchanged a glance with Breezepelt, him doing a worse job of hiding his horror. The girl had let out a low, hushed laugh that made me think of shattering glass. I'd stepped forward, put on my most menacing face, and snarled at her: "How nice of you to eavsdrop on other people's private conversations."

The girl had just smirked again and replied: "If it were so _private,_ you should've chosen a better spot. You are right outside the main training hollow."

I'd glanced at Breezepelt, who's sorry self was cringing back against a gnarled tree. I'd rolled my eyes. Some ally he was. Deciding to yell at him later, I turned my attention back to the snub-nosed stalker. "Right. Because nosy, stupid apprentices would _never_ eavesdrop on others."

"You're in luck. No nosy, stupid apprentice did," she retorted, still smirking.

I'd growled under my breath. This stranger was becoming VERY AGGRIVATING. "Ssssso..." I'd hissed with a voice like dripping venom. "What exactly are you going to do next? I recommend that you choose wisely. Unless of course, you don't mind daggers in your eyeballs."

She'd laughed her cold, cruel laughter a again. "Ah, I won't report you. Wouldn't be a point. You'll get caught eventually, don't you worry. In the meantime, your friends can enjoy all the wonderful scares and spooks you're sending them."

Behind me, I'd heard Breezepelt shuffle his feet slightly before stammering in a pathetically weak voice, "Aren't you c-concerned ab-bout them kn-knowing about the s-s-secrets of the Dark F-Forest?"

It took all of my self control not to use my dagger on _his_ aggrivating face.

The stranger shrugged. "It's no secret where the Dark Forest is. If anything, your little secret sharing will strike even more _fear_ into those rabbit-brained star woreshippers."

I'd felt my neck hair beginning to rise. How dare she insult my friends! And StarClan! And those pathetic, cowaring people who dreamed nightmares of the Dark Forest and- okay fine, she can insult _those _people.

I'd glared at her. "So you're really not going to report us?"

She'd nodded, smiliing wickedly again. "I won't. As I said: no point."

"...Alright. You'd better be telling the truth, or I _will_ hunt you down and I _will_ stab your eyeballs out and use them to make kabobs for the Fangs."

"Oooooh, I'm so _scared_," she snorted in mock fear, which made her ALL THE MORE DESERVE TO GET STABBED.

Slowly, I looked her up and down. Other than her slim, faded blue hoodie, she wore fitted black sweatpants and black running boots with small clear gems embedded on the sides. I noticed a satchel she had slung over her shoulder and narrowed my eyes at it suspiciously.

The girl noticed and put on a look that was a bit too amused. "Those are just supplies. You'll figure out what's in there soon enough." she'd said. She'd then stood up and stared down at us. "You're Violetshadow and Nightwhisker, right? I saw you at the Darkpool."

I'd nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's us. Who're you?"

She'd smiled again and flipped of her hood, revealing short, silver hair that sparkled in the dim moonlight. "Bristlefrost."

* * *

_**Next chapter, I'm counting Starkittis! Thank you **__**heronstorm**__**, **__**FrostFeather08**__** and **__**Ivy**__** for checking this story out and reviewing!**_

_**-Silver Speaker**_


	20. Chapter 18: Not Alone

_**Starkitti time! Counting the number of times my most frequent or newest reviewers have reviewed!**_

_**(In case you're wondering, I find the most recent and frequent reviewers, I order them by number of reviews, and then alphabetical order.)**_

_**FreeEcho**__** \- :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3 :3**_

_**Pebbleleap**__** \- :3 :3 :3 :3 :3**_

_**Duskspiral**__** \- :3 :3 :3**_

_**FrostFeather08**__** \- :3 :3 :3**_

_**MOONSHADOW**__** \- :3 :3 :3**_

_**heronstorm**__** \- :3**_

_**ivy**__** \- :3**_

_**KT-FeatherSage**__** \- :3**_

_**Special thanks to **__**DragonFlame64**__**, **__**FreeEcho,**__**KT-FeatherSage**__**, **__**Threenutswriting**__**, and **__**tristenwaltz1**__** for favoriting this story! :3**_

___**I also started a new story, Wings of Fire Chatrooms and Interactions.**_

* * *

**Regular**

Heads shot up as ferns rustled on the far side of the clearing. Slowly, a figure emerged, her short, shimmering hair glowing in the moonlight. Vines slowly began curling down from the trees, reaching for the figure, but she swatting them away with an outstretched arm.

The croud was silent as dark-haired teen girl stepped forward. She had an authorative aura about her and she wore a black, skin-tight outfit and her dark boots glided silently over the grass. Two streaks of color flowed through her hair, one white and one orange. She greated the emerging figure, who dipped her head politely in turn.

"Spottedleaf," she murmured.

The black-clad girl nodded. "Bristlefrost."

Bristlefrost straightened and met Spottedleaf's eyes, determination sparkling in her eyes.

"You bring news," Spottedleaf mused, the smallest of smiles playing across her lips.

The silver-headed teen nodded. "Yes. Two spies have appeared in the Dark Forest, younger than you but older than me. They seek information, secrets. They have friends in the city whom they send messages to. They were not sent by us."

Spottedleaf nodded slowly. "They did this themselves..." she murmured.

"Yes," Bristlefrost said. "I don't want to reveal us to them unless I have to. Unless I'm sure I can trust them."

"Yes, keep us a secret," Spottedleaf agreed. "Though you do not know how it makes me feel to know that there are others. Out there, somewhere. Others who are willing to take risks. People who see evil in the Dark Forest and want to stop it." She closed her eyes.

Bristlefrost nodded solemnly. "Others," she echoed. "I almost thought this day would never come."

Spottedleaf slowly opened her eyes and stared at the younger girl intently. "Yes, but still. Do not hint us, do speak of us, do not tell them anything. And most importantly... tell _no one_ where we are."

"Of course, Spottedleaf," Bristlefrost said, bowing. She turned and gazed at the trees. The lush forest and interwoven branches. The unique creatures and odd plants. The salty waves and precious wildlife. Her home. The home of others. And the soon-to-be home of the two high school rebels. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scents of the jungle and smiled.

"We are not alone after all."

* * *

**_This was short, I know. I'm working on the next chapter. I just felt this bit had to be put out seperately. I hope you all are doing well! I love you guys! :3_**

**_-Silver Speaker_**


	21. Chapter 19: Uncovered

**Whitewing**

I looked the worn-out sheet of paper up and down once more and sighed. Over the past couple of days, Birchfall, Sandstorm, Jayfeather and I had scribbled little notes all over it (well, Jayfeather had shared his ideas) and we _still _had almost no clue what it meant.

I'm not saying we were totally helpless; it was pretty clear that a silver-lit girl was supposed to grant the Dark Forest eternal darkness and evil and stuff, but knowing that didn't matter if we couldn't even stop it. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, the familiar feeling of fear for my best friend creeping back.

One of the first things Jayfeather had suggested was that Ivypool could be the silver figure the "prophecy" spoke of, but I shot that idea down. It couldn't be Ivypool, right? I mean, she was infiltrating the Dark Forest! She couldn't side with them!

"There's a difference between 'couldn't' and 'could but I don't wanna believe it,'" a voice sounded from beside my ear.

I turned my head in surprise and found myself staring into Jayfeather's sightless blue eyes. "What- how did you-?" I sputtered.

He shrugged. "It's not hard to guess what you're thinking. You're best friends with Ivypool and you trust her, but prophecies are never wrong."

"Never wrong? According to what resource?" I growled, determined to prove him wrong. Ivypool was on our side, she'd never betray us!

Jayfeather shrugged again. "Books. Movies. TV shows."

I raised an eyebrow. "You know from movies and tv shows."

"'There's a difference between 'blind' and 'deaf,'" he snapped.

"'There's a difference between 'fantasy' and 'reality,'" I retorted.

"Getting proof and riding on fluff."

"Being smart and being stupid."

"Solving the problem and pointlessly bickering everyone's ears off!" Sandstorm snarled.

Jayfeather and I both turned to glare at her but neither of us said anything. Nobody messes with Sandstorm for two main reasons: when she's not mad, she's the sweetest person on the island. And she's Firestar's girlfriend, who's the captain of the football team, an honor student, and the most popular boy in the school.

"Sandstorm's right," Birchfall said. "We're still nowhere closer to figuring this out than when we started."

I sighed again. "I know, it's just... well... it's been days and we're getting nowhere. These notes aren't any help at all."

Sandstorm glanced ruefully at the sketches and packed tiny print scrolled across the page. "...We'll take a break for now. Dovewing called another meeting anyway. A new message."

I immediatly perked up. A new message meant Ivypool was probably still okay, since only she ever came to the camera. I grabbed the sheet of paper before swinging open the door and stepping into the hallway with the other three right behind me. Together, we hurried towards Dovewing's dorm where everyone else was already waiting. I was slightly satisfyed that Breezepelt wasn't here or he would've complained about us being late.

"Took you long enough," said a gruff voice as I entered. Oh, yeah. And Crowfeather. He complains too.

"Shhhh," Nightcloud hissed, earning herself a glare from Crowfeather.

Dovewing clapped her hands to get our attention before speaking. "Leafpool and I watched this footage just before you all got here and I have to say, it's... different. Unexpected." She pressed a button on her keyboard and everyone turned their heads towards the TV.

It showed a female figure emerging from the trees, clad in black with short silver hair. _Did Ivypool get a haircut?_ I wondered. Last time I checked, Ivypool's hair was long enough to make a ponytail. This girl's hair didn't even make it to her chin. I froze. That... that wasn't Ivypool. She didn't have my friend's deep blue eyes and proud scowl. Her eyes were a pale crystal blue and her grumpy sneer was another thing entirely.

Around the room, I heard people gasp and murmer to each other about who that could possibly be, and why it wasn't Ivypool.

The girl came closer to the camera and I waited for Dovewing to freeze the screen so we could read the note she had. Only, there was no note. More proof that this wasn't Ivypool; she spoke instead of holding up a note.

The girl's voice was swift and smooth, her tone icy and warm and creepy all at once. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dovewing turn up the volume.

"Greetings," the girl whispered. She spoke with the aura of falling frozen snow. "I know who you are, and you need not be afraid. I come to tell you that there are others like you." The girl paused and glanced behind her, probably to make sure no one was there. "Your two friends have not spoken of you to me, but I have watched them. They aren't like the other warriors here. They have you. They are not on the Dark Forest's side."

I gasped and held by breath. This girl... she knew about Ivypool and Breezepelt? She knew about us? Who's side was she on? This could be a trick! And what did she mean by "there are others like us"? Was she a spy too? I shivered and leaned back against the wall as the mysterious girl continued speaking.

"In due time, I will tell you more, just as I will your friends. For now, I can tell you this. Remember the Lunakee, you are in need of assisstance."

I winced as her face suddenly darkened as she told us the second thing.

"A shadow walks among you. Find it. Your greatest enemy lives within."


	22. Chapter 20: No

**Anonymous**

Slowly, I looked around. All around me were familiar landmarks and smells. I didn't understand why it all felt so... different. Then, as I squinted and looked closer, I saw why.

Everything here was coated in silver and starlight. The grass rippled in the soft, fresh-smelling breeze and the trees glittered like a thousand diamonds. I'd heard of this place since the moment I could understand words, though I'd never seen it until now. This was the place where spirits went, when their time with the living was over. This wasn't home. This wasn't where I wanted to be.

Gasping, I planted my palms on the ground and pushed myself up. Panting with fear, I stumbled to the edge of the clearing and peered into the trees. Suddenly, I froze. Glancing down, I gasped. I was... walking? But... how? Wasn't I supposed to be... My thoughts trailed off as a looked around in amazement.

Right. Of course. I was dead. I'd been killed, so I was dead. And when you die, StarClan heals you. Everyone knows that. So of course I could walk. Of course there wasn't a knife sticking out of my chest. I shuddered as an image of that girl's horrid grin flashed across my mind. Who was she? Did she go to Starlake High? Why didn't I recognize her? And why had she _killed _me?

Looking back, my breath caught in my throat, almost causing me to choke. Right where I'd be standing a moment earlier was a small pool of water covered in a silver sheen of starlight. I whipped around, half expecting someone to materialize from out of nowhere, like in all those old legends and folktales. Where was StarClan? Why hadn't anyone come to me? Was I not welcome?

Nervously, I crept towards the pool, my shoes ruffling the perfect green grass and beautiful, yellow buttercups. Creeping to the water's edge, I looked down, my eyes widening in shock. The starlight began to fade here, slowly evaporating into the water until a clear image glittered in the surface. It was Dovewing and Leafpool's dorm! And everyone was gathered in the small space with their eyes trained on the TV. Narrowing my eyes, I saw a girl I didn't recognize speaking to them through the screen. She looked cold and uninviting and she kept glancing behind her at a dark, shadowy forest.

For a moment, I thought it was the same girl who had killed me, but then I realized this one had short, silver hair, not like my killer. Studying my friend's faces, I saw them creasing with worry and concern as the mysterious girl continued to speak. "...Guys?" I called softly, wondering if they could here me. After a moment's pause, I tred again. "Guys? Can you hear me? It's me, I- I was murdered. I don't know why or who-" I broke off as I realized there had been no reaction. They couldn't hear me.

Sighing, I knelt in front of the pool, blinking back tears. Why? Why had I been murdered? Why would anyone do such a thing? What had I ever done? I was so confused, so scared, so unsure. There was still no sign of any StarClan warriors, only the faint whistle of the cool breeze.

Resentment and fear clawed at my belly as I gazed down at my friend's once more. Part of me wanted to brush my hand against the surface, perhaps hoping they'd notice. That it'd bring me closer to them. But I didn't want to risk disturbing the image and making it disappear.

I was so focused on my friends and my haunted thought of the stranger girl that it was by mere chance that I glimpsed the figure emerging from the open door. Everyone else was huddled around the TV and didn't see the figure, but I did. It only took me a second to recognize my killer. I gasped and jumped to my feet, waving my arms and calling their names. "Blossomfall! Sandstorm! Graystripe! Everyone! Behind you!" Still no reaction.

I watched with frozen horror as the evil girl crept closer. Two razor-sharp daggers were sheathed to her belt, just like the one she'd killed me with. I held my breath and choked back a sob as tears streamed down my face. She was probably going to kill someone. Maybe mulitple. Maybe all of them. I mean, what could stop her? She had daggers and she knew how to use them. My friends would be too shocked and scared to fight. I covered my face with my hands and waited to hear screams of horror.

Silence.

Slowly, I took my hands down and gawked. Crowfeather had turned around and spotted her! He'd raise the alarm now! My friends would be fine. I was about to crumple with relief when, yet again, something stopped me. Crowfeather, he was just... looking at her. Fury and suspicion flashed across his face before it drained of all emotion. His eyes darted to the knives on her belt and I shivered. Had she wanted to be spotted? Would she strike now? Was it some sort of trap? Why wasn't she moving? And... why wasn't Crowfeather?

Then I saw it.

She had the upper hand with her weapons. If Crowfeather alerted the others, she'd attack. Who knows how many she'd kill before someone managed to pin her down. Who knew if they'd even be able to defeat her? Crowfeather had to remain silent, and he knew it.

I watched in horror as she slowly motioned him towards her. I couldn't see her face, but I was guessing she was either grinning maliciously or looking menacing.

After a moment's hesitation and another glance at her belt, Crowfeather walked forward. His muscles tensed and his icy blue eyes were hard and cold. The girl withdrew a knife from her belt and gently pushed him out the door.

I could see the image beginning to fade from the pond and started to panic. I had to go with them, I was worried about Crowfeather. He could be killed, trapped, taken in as a hostage, anything! Suddenly, the ground vanished from beneath me and I screamed, terrified of plummeting out of the sky. Instead, I stayed right where I was. My feet felt secure as if they were still on the ground, but it was just air. Looking down, I spotted Crowfeather and that girl exiting the building. I still couldn't see her face, no matter how hard I tried to get at the right angle. They were just too small from so far below.

They started off in one direction with me walking with them. I follow them for multiple miles before we finally stopped at a huge forest. I shuddered. It was dark and tightly packed, with tall, smooth trees that reach to the sky. The cloud above it were gray and uninviting, and it was surrounded by an invisible web of a feeling that just felt... wrong.

The look on Crowfeather's face grew dark as the girl forced him forward. I jumped and hurried after them, only to be stopped by something I couldn't quite explain. It was a horrible, nagging sensation that yanked me back to StarClan and shoved me away from the forest. I couldn't bring my feet to take another step forward, but going backward was easy and almost relieving. In a flash, I understood.

I couldn't go there, not now anyway. Whatever that dark, creepy forest was, StarClan wanted nothing to do with it. Which meant neither did I. I watched helplessly as Crowfeather was pushed forward yet again, closely follow by the knife-bearing killer. As they entered the trees and were swallowed by the shadows, I fell to my knees and began to cry.


	23. Chapter 21: Prisoner

_**For some reason, the number "21" is a huge thing. I have no idea why, but it is. So I hope this chapter especially works.**_

* * *

**Ivypool**

I peeked out from my hiding spot and locked my eyes on the target. Slowly, I shifted silently into a better position. This was my final test before I could move up a level in my training. I could _not_ afford to screw it up. Glancing back, I recognized Hawkfrost's icy blue eyes watching me from the shadows. He would know if I set on foot wrong. I needed to do this perfectly.

Taking a deep breath, I turned back to my target and saw that my chance was almost here. Just one more step. One more... almost... almost... now!

Suddenly, I pushed off from the ground and exploded out from behind the bush. The target whipped around and snarled when he saw me. He tried to dodge but my heel was already extended and slammed him squarely in the jaw. I heard a furious yelp of pain and grinned. Quick as a flash, I landed and thumped him in the gut with my fist. When he doubled over, clutching his stomach, I brought my knee up and stamped him to the ground, my boot planted firmly on his chest.

Smirking, and lightly dusted off my jacket and stepped behind him, turning to face the trees where Hawkfrost was hiding.

His head appeared first, his icy blue eyes pinning me down as a small smile creeped across his lips. He spoke slowly, his usual bone-chilling tone forcing me to hold back shivers. "Well done," he hissed. "You have passed the test." He glanced at my defeated target. "I would have expected you do better, Snowtuft," he growled. "Tigerstar will hear about this."

Snowtuft shot me a furious look but bowed his head to Hawkfrost, remaining silent.

I pressed back a grin. Only a few weeks ago, Snowtuft might have been able to defeat me, but not anymore. I'd trained every day, growing faster, swifter, stronger and more powerful. My goal was to one day achieve elite warrior so I could hear all of the Dark Forest's plans. I'd be the greatest spy ever.

Hawkfrost's voice brought me back to the present as Snowtuft huffed and walked to his place beside him. "We're having a meeting tonight," Hawkfrost said icily. "I want you to be there."

I tipped my head. There were meetings every week and it usually wasn't required to go to them. I hadn't been to one since Breezepelt and I first arrived at the forest. "As you wish," I responded. "What's it for?"

"You will find out when you get there," he offered.

I snorted. "Fine." One thing I'd learned about the elite warriors; all of them were annoyingly vague. They never completed a thought, never answered your questions. They just told you what to do and walked away.

"And tell Nightwhisker to be there. You both need to see this," Hawkfrost added before whipping around and disappearing into the trees with a glowering Snowtuft stalking behind him.

* * *

**Breezepelt**

"Fellow members of the Dark Forest, a special meeting awaits us," Tigerstar's shadowy voice bellowed across the clearing.

I fidgeted beside Ivypool, trying to hide my nerves. It seemed as if the entire forest had gathered here tonight! There were even more people than when Ivypool and I became members.

On Ivypool's other side stood Bristlefrost. I wasn't quite sure what to think of her yet. She seemed to mostly keep to herself and she _always_ had that bag with her. I did my best to avoid her and be super friendly when we did cross paths. All it took was one little sentence from her and Ivypool and I would be shot into next week.

"What's this meeting about?" I hissed into Ivypool's ear.

She glanced at me and rolled her eyes. "Do I look like a psychic?"

"You look like Crowfeather when I sprayed him with mustard," I remarked.

"Shut it."

"Heh."

"Who's Crowfeather?" Bristlefrost asked, surprising me. I suddenly realized I'd let my guard down and mentioned someone from outside the forest.

"One of the jerks that bullied Nightwhisker," Ivypool replied, shrugging. How did she do that? She made it seem so easy!

Bristlefrost smirked. "Ah. Fun."

I stared at the ground uncomfortably. In a way, yes, sure he bullied me. But to be fair, I did nail him with a mustard-filled water gun. Tigerstar's booming voice inturrupted my thoughts and I turned to gaze up at the Darkstone.

"A few days ago, one of our members went into the outside world and visited the Starlake High School," the dark leader began.

I stifled a gasp and snuck a quick glance at Ivypool. Her expression was calm but I could see a faint trace of alarm in her eyes.

"As some of you may know, Starlake High is the largest school on the island and one of the largest secret databases in the industry," Tigerstar continued.

I sucked in a breath. _I didn't know it was a secret database. How did he know?_

The Dark Forest leader allowed a small smile to escape and gestured toward the shadows with on hand. "We successfully retrieved a student from the school that has read the data and knows many of the island's secrets. He is now our prisoner and we are working on getting information out of him. This information will no doubt assist us in our quest for revenge and vengeance."

My mind whirled as I tried not to show my fear. A student? Who? They'd read the databases? How? Was there some secret selection program we didn't know about? I held my breath as two bulky Dark Forest guards emerged from the trees, each gripping a shoulder of the prisoner. His hands were tied behind his back with strong chains. Shackles were secured around his ankles and were bound together by another chain, long enough for him to walk properly but short enough to prevent his from taking long strides, such as to run and escape.

A cold, heartless glare emitted from his bright gaze as he watched the crowd. He stood perfectly still, his eyes sweeping over the many faces and then up to the Darkstone. I could've sworn his muscles tensed a little more when he saw Brokenstar.

Beside me, Ivypool stiffened. I knew she recognized that prisoner. We both did. And although it had only been for a snippet of a second, I knew he'd recognized us too. That cool, smooth bravery. That dark ruffled hair. Those cold blue eyes that were forever unblinking.

Now we were in even more danger than before, however impossible that may seem. He knew exactly who we were. He knew everything about us. He knew why we were here. He had all the information. All of it.

And now he was here, in the Dark Forest. He was in the clutches of people who wanted information. People who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. All it would take was one little line. One little sentence. Maybe even one little word, and we'd all be dead.

"You know him?" Bristlefrost whispered to us.

"...Yeah," I admitted. "Yeah, we do." _No point in hiding it now. She probably saw it on our faces. She'd know we were lying._

Ivypool nodded, apparently thinking the same thing. "Bristlefrost, meet Crowfeather."


	24. Chapter 22: Captive

**Bristlefrost**

Standing outside the prison, I watched the newest addition through curious, narrowed eyes. Since my mentor was out attending a special meeting, I had the day off. I'd decided to check out this _Crowfeather_ whom Violetshadow and Nightwhisker appeared to have met before.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I arrived at the prison, but I couldn't help being slightly surprised by the sight that greeted me. Crowfeather was sitting in the corner atop a large tree stump, glowering at his shackles.

Something I should tell about the Dark Forest prison: it isn't a normal prison. Rather than iron bars and cold cramped cells, we have a giant pit that's about 20 yards deep. The walls are made completely of sword-smooth rock and the pit is filled with sharp stones and muddy water. The guards would toss in anything from rabid mice to grizzly bears, which was probably why most prisoners didn't last very long.

Crowfeather, however, had somehow obtained a dagger and was using it to stab anything that came within arms reach of his stump, including other prisoners.

Smirking, I casually strolled over to the nearest guard and grunted to get his attention. "Hey. Why does that guy have a weapon?" I demanded, pointing down at Crowfeather.n

The guard shrugged. "I dunno."

"Why don't you take it from him?"

"No need to bother the Talon trainers," the guard grunted.

Talon trainers were the members that trained our birds, or more accurately, our Talons. Talons were hawks and eagles large enough and strong enough to carry a human. The Talons were how we got the prisoners in and out of the pit.

"Besides," the guard continued. "How much can he do with one knife? We've got a whole cage of bears we can dump in once he comes back out."

"Ha!" I snorted, amused by how careless he was being. "Whatever. When does he come out?"

"Interrogations are in three hours," the guard sniffed. "Maybe sooner. Depends on when that leaders' meeting ends."

I nodded slowly. "Alright. That gives me plenty of time." Glancing down, I strolled to the edge of the pit and plopped down directly above Crowfeather's corner. I saw him twitch slightly as my boots thunked against the rock wall, but he didn't move or make a sound. "So. Crowfeather, right?" I called. The wall carried sound surprisingly well so I didn't have to speak very loudly.

The smokey-haired boy looked up at me and a flash of recognition lit up in his icy blue eyes. Angling his gaze down again, he muttered something like, "I guess."

_Ah. He must be part of that group that Violetshadow and Nightwhisker are reporting too, _I guessed. He must've recognized me from my little presentation. "How's life in prison?" I smirked.

"Why do you care?" He growled.

"I don't. I just wanna talk to someone lowlier than me once in awhile," I snickered.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he retorted.

Not bad. This guy was smooth. He kind of reminded me of Violetshadow if I was being nest. "You remind me of one of my friends," I told him.

"Don't go comparing me to your shady, insane pals."

"Ha! You're one to talk."

Crowfeather opened his mouth to say something else when a large alligator suddenly emerged from the swamp and started towards him, snapping it's powerful jaws. Crowfeather glanced at it before lashing out with one arm and slicing a deep gash into it's eye and across it's snout. The alligator shrieked and whipped around, disappearing as suddenly as it had come.

Slightly impressed, I allowed a half smile to escape my lips. "Where'd you get the dagger?"

Another glare.

"... Anyway... you're interrogations are soon. You planning to spill the beans to Tigerstar and Brokenstar?" I asked, biting back a smirk.

He snorted. "Like that's any of _your _business."

"It is. What you say determines what happens to _my home_."

"Some home you got. It's smelly, muddy, cold and dark. Who'd _want_ to live here?"

I sighed quietly. This guy was practically Violetshadow's twin. I wondered if they got along well. If they had anything in common, that probably meant we wouldn't get any useful information out of him. _Oh, right. Hmm... I wonder if he knows anything about Violetshadow and Nightwhisker's spy business_. "Hey, how do you know Violetshadow and Nightwhisker anyway? Old pals or something, right?" I wondered if it just my imagination, but I'm pretty sure he flinched.

"Same school," he muttered. "If you can even consider them students now."

I shrugged. "Consider them students of the Dark Forest."

"Whatever."

"So, what's your opinion on them? Anything I should know about them?"

He shrugged and stabbed at the tree stump with his dagger. "Just that Violetshadow is a grumpy, sarcastic badger and Nightwhisker is an annoying idiot."

I bit back a loud snicker. "Oh dear. What'd they do?"

"Not gonna waste my time telling _you."_

"Heh. Fine. I'll just ask _them_."

"Be my guest."

Suddenly, a heavy hand clamped down on my right shoulder and tugged me to my feet. "Enough chit-chat," grunted the guard from earlier. "The leaders are back early. Your interrogations begin in five minutes." He glowered at Crowfeather. Releasing my shoulder, he made a small twirling gesture with one finger before turning and marching back to his post.

No sooner had he walked away did a loud screech sound from high overhead. Looking skyward, I watched as a huge brown-and-white eagle swooping down into the pit and grabbed Crowfeather by the shoulders. The dark-haired boy growled unhappily as the eagle sank its talons into his flesh and hoisted him up.

Since I'd never seen an interrogation before, I decided to tag along. It wasn't often that we got prisoners of any value. Usually, anyone we captured was just tossed onto the training grounds so apprentices could practice stalking and slaughtering.

Racing beneath the Talon that carried the smoky-colored prisoner, I was so focused on keeping an eye on both the bird and the trees that I didn't notice the footsteps steadily approaching me from behind until it was too late. "Hey," Violetshadow called as she appeared beside me.

"Oh, hi. You coming to the interrogation?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Nightwhimper too," she said, pointing to her right.

"Nightwhimper" was her favorite nickname for the black-haired boy as he was always shying away from everything. I'd asked her once if he had always been like this but she'd just laughed and told me to ask again later. Personally, I found Nightwhisker anything but annoying, leading me to assume he must've been different once upon a time or Crowfeather wouldn't be holding a grudge.

Casting a sidelong glance at the trees Violetshadow was indicating, I could just barely make out Nightwhisker's dark outline gliding through the shadows. I raised an eyebrow at Violetshadow and she rolled her eyes. "You wanna know if he was different before the Dark Forest? Ask Crowfeather if you get the chance."

_I was right. Crowfeather does know something, _I noted silently. "Will do," I replied with a small smile. "Now let's go watch that interrogation. I've never seen one before. Might be interesting."

Violetshadow nodded. "Yeah. Hawkfrost said we were required to come. Gotta be somethin' fun for him to say that."


	25. Chapter 23: Interrogation

_**So sorry for the wait. I was on summer hiatus since I'll have to stare at a screen all day for school.**_

* * *

**Crowfeather**

You know what you should never do? Get yourself captured by a sketchy girl with a knife to save your spineless, senseless friends from getting decapitated. You know what I did? Exactly that. Pretty sad, right? You know what made the whole situation even worse? The fact that the slithering salamander that tried to kill my classmate (NOT crush) was right there staring down at me from a giant rock. Oh, and I was wrapped in chains. Just wonderful.

I narrowed my icy blue eyes at Brokenstar as his annoying, smirking partner began to speak. "As you all know, we recently captured and detained this prisoner. Now, a few days later, it is finally time to interrogate him."

_Blah blah blah, skip the professional stuff, _I thought, rolling my eyes.

Somewhere behind me, footsteps approached. Someone was running late. Turning my head, I recognized Ivypool and Breezepelt, as well as that weird Bristlefrost girl that had appeared in the camera recording. I tensed. I still wasn't convinced that she could be trusted.

Brokenstar's cold, rusty voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Ssssssooooo..." he hissed, his tongue slithering across his teeth like a viper's. "Tell us your name, prisoner."

I wondered if he recognized me as I had send him flying off a roof during our last encounter. "Why should I?" I growled, wondering if I could stall the actual interrogating long enough to figure out how to escape.

Tigerstar smirked again. "Why not? You're outnumbered, outgunned, and outwitted. And this is an interrogation. You give us answers or you die. Simple as that."

I glared at him but opened my mouth to speak. "Crowfeather."

"Ah. You're the one that kicked my fellow leader. Impressive, I must admit. Not many have ever managed to land an effective blow on either of us."

_What is he trying to pull? _I wondered. "Not many have ever managed to look that smug about living in isolation and never doing anything, yet claiming to be the most powerful beings alive."

"Ha! I like this one," the scarred leader bellowed.

All around me, I heard snickers and shifting feet as the audience reacted. Behind my right shoulder, Ivypool kicked a twig that went airborne for two seconds before landing beside a thick tree stump.

"Playing favorites now, are we?" I snorted.

Tigerstar didn't respond. Instead, he motioned to one of the armed warriors. "Alright, let's get on with it. Stick a spear over his throat."

I forced myself not to react as a cold, metal blade slowly slid across my vocal chords, just barely avoiding drawing blood. I know I'm usually all tough and scary, but anyone with brains would know not to snap when there's a deadly weapon inches away from their face.

"Now then," Brokenstar hissed, "what can you tell us about your little plots?"

I spoke smoothly and evenly so as not to dig my throat into the sharp blade. "You'll need to be more specific." _Think, don't motormouth. Say no more than necessary. _I blinked as a pebble went flying and smacked into the same stump as the twig Ivypool had kicked moments before. Whipping my head around, I opened my mouth to tell the annoying girl to stop when something caught my eye. Standing into the shadows, secured to the same tree by a rope, was a giant hawk. It was black-and-gray and slightly smaller than the eagle that had carried me here. It piercing yellow eyes seemed to slice the shadows apart as its head twitched in different directions. And the best part? It was my ticket out of here. That must've been why Ivypool was kicking stuff at it. She was showing me how to escape.

Slowly, discreetly, my fingers slid into my pocket and felt the slender dagger I'd snatched from my kidnapper's belt when she wasn't looking. This plan just might work. I just had to time it exactly right.

I kept my face stony and expressionless as Tigerstar smirked at my words. "I know you and your friends think we're up to no good. You want revenge for what we did to your little pal so you've been secretly plotting against us. You are almost certainly brewing up some kind of scheme and we want to know if we should go through the trouble of trying to stop you. Specific enough?"

I glared at him. He'd figured out a lot considering the fact that all he had to go off of was what had happened at the abandoned barn. I guess the reports about the Dark Forest masterminds weren't exaggerating. Of course, that didn't mean I was about to tell him anything. "You might wanna check your hearing aids because I have no idea what you're talking about," I retorted. I knew I was testing his patience. The deadly blade was still pressed against my neck and Tigerstar's superior expression was slowly becoming a snarl.

_Yeah... probably time to go. _My eyes began darting from side to side as I tried to figure out how to escape. It seemed impossible. I was completely surrounded by Dark Forest warriors. There wasn't a single inch of space between them. Plus, I still had the stupid spear problem. I was beginning to wonder how painful death by spear-to-the-throat would be when a pine cone smacked me in the back.

_Ugh. I saw the dang bird! Now cut it out! _I silently growled and Ivypool. Another pine cone. Tensing, I glanced at her once more, ready to give her a furious glare.

Then she winked.

I stopped, confused. Her eyes darted to the surrounding warriors, the bird, and me. Then she winked again.

I got it in an instant. Whatever it was, Ivypool had some sort of plan to create a hole in the circle of warriors. I'd be able to slip through the gap and escape on the bird, securing my life and the safety of my friends. All I had to do was escape from the creepy spear dude looming over me. _Easily fixed._

With my escape plan now complete, I turned my attention back to Tigerstar. He wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, he looked pretty unhappy. Probably not good news for me. I was running out of time.

Very slowly, I began to draw my dagger. _Clink!_ I tried again. _Clink! _I looked down. Oh no. The chains! The shackles! I inwardly smacked myself. How could I forget? There was no way I could move efficiently with my hands chained, much less _run in shackles_. Frantically, I began searching for something to cut them with. I was pretty sure a dagger couldn't cut metal chains, no matter how sharp. Plus, all the sharpest ones were in the hands of Dark Forest people. But a spear...

Hmmm. The spear pressed against my neck might do. I looked horribly sharp. Plus, one side was jagged like a saw. Maybe I could use it to grip the chains and snap them. Only problem? If I made one sudden movement I would most likely never move again. Yeah. I thought this would be easy.

Unfortunately, I was now officially out of time. Tigerstar was signalling for another armed soldier to come forward. There was no way I could take on two at once in the state I was in. It was now or never.

Forcing my muscles to relax, I took a deep breath. Then I released my dagger, snapped my neck back, and grabbed the spear with both hands.


	26. Chapter 24: Right Beside Me

_**I'm going to take some time to edit and revise the previous chapters. There are quite a few spelling and grammar errors. Plus some tweaks I want to make. However, I'm really excited about these next few chapters so I'll probably keep updating.  
**_

* * *

**Fernsong**

It was completely unexpected. He was on his knees. There was a spear ready to stab his neck. He was hopelessly outnumbered. And he attacked.

I had been standing next to Violetshadow, watching the interrogation commence. Tigerstar was about to get serious (which pretty much never happened) when suddenly, _BAM!_ The prisoner had snatched the spear out of Darkstripe's hands and swung the blunt end into his stomach.

Darkstripe gasped as he was thrown off guard and the air was knocked out him. The captive took this opportunity to kick him down and jam the sharp point of the weapon between his ankle shackles. Before any of us had time to react, he'd violently twisted the spear and snapped the shackles off. It happened so fast, I felt like I'd barely had time to even blink.

"Stop him, you idiots!" Tigerstar roared. "Don't let him escape!"

At once, the circle of warriors began closing in on the prisoner. He turned and spun in a wild circle, swinging to spear threateningly at anyone who came within range. Obviously, he wasn't going anywhere. We'd secure him and rebind him and-

"Hey! Watch it, punk!"

I whipped around as an angry voice arose from in front of Violetshadow. Apparently, she'd accidentally stepped on someone's foot. Or not. With her, it was hard to tell.

"Then move," she retorted.

The other warrior snarled. "_You_ move. You're the newbie."

"What did you just call me?" she growled, a hint of danger in her tone.

"You heard me, city scum. Stay out of my way." He smirked and shoved her back with one hand, his eyes goading her to retaliate.

Now you might be thinking, "just ignore him, he's a bully", but that's not Violetshadow's style. As far as I could tell, her style was punching anything that annoyed her. That could be a stray branch that brushed against her face, or it could be a full-grown warrior that pushed her into a tree. If she punched a branch just for being there, imagine what she did to a warrior that shoved her.

Quick as lightning, she lunged forward and kicked the thug hard in the chest. He grunted and stumbled back, bumping into two more Dark Forest members. Then Violetshadow braced her hands against his shoulders and shoved him even harder. This time, he completely lost his balance and fell backward, knocking the other two over. Then those two toppled over and caused another three to fall. Then those three hit another _six_. In a matter of seconds, about a third of the crowd was lying flat on the ground, hissing and punching and kicking each other with fury.

That was bad news for us. While Violetshadow had been occupied, the prisoner had managed to fend off most of his attackers. Now that a huge section of the circle was gone, he had an easy escape. Seeing his chance, he slammed the end of his spear into one his tormentors before sprinted through the open gap. Bristlefrost tried to get to him but Violetshadow was blocking her way.

When I stepped forward to block the hostage's path, he pointed his spear and I flinched back. I watched him dash to a nearby tree and slash at something before disappearing into the shadows. A moment later, wing-beats sounded and he rose into the air on the back of one of our hawks. He must've been cutting the rope so he could ride it.

Luckily, he didn't seem to know how to fly the thing. He's cut the chains around his wrists and grabbed the reins, but the giant bird wouldn't obey him. I guessed it was a private bird since it was refusing to him ride it. It had been a public bird, it probably would've taken off without a second thought.

I was about to shout for the owner to call the hawk when something incredibly strange happened. From somewhere in the distance, a single bird screeched. I barely caught the distant sound, but the hawk definitely did. As if its owner were suddenly up and forgotten, it began to beat its wings faster and faster and rose higher and higher. Then it abruptly stopped and shot off like a rocket, taking the former prisoner with it.

Bristlefrost ran up behind me just as the giant hawk disappeared over the dark treetops. "What in the blazes just happened?"

I stared at her, speechless. Somehow, a teenager from the outside had just made a huge fool out of us by taking out ten warriors and stealing one of our birds.

Violetshadow dusted off her pants and looked around. "Well... if I had to guess, I'd say Crowfeather just made Dark Forest history."

_Crowfeather._ The name echoed softly in my mind as she spoke. That's right. She and Nightwhisker knew that guy from their time in the city. I guess neither of them had been expecting him to escape so easily since they hadn't tried to warn us at all. They hadn't even displayed a particular liking for Crowfeather. Nightwhicker had mostly kept his distance and Violetshadow had kicked rocks at him. That was probably how he'd spotted the hawk and gotten away. The rocks had landed against tree the bird was roped to.

And then Violetshadow had gotten into that fight which ended up opening a gap for him... wait a minute.

When I summed it all up, it almost sounded a little too convenient. Violetshadow was the reason he'd noticed the bird, and Violetshadow was the reason he'd been able to get to it. What if... what if... no. No, that couldn't be it. She was one of us. There was no way she'd help an outsider. She didn't seem to even like him that much. But still. Something about the way that had all played out just now...

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Bristlefrost staring at me intensely. I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. Then I cocked a thumb in Violetshadow's direction. She nodded slowly. So I wasn't the only one who was slightly suspicious.

Obviously, no one else had paid any attention to Violetshadow. They'd only seen her get into that fight. They were completely oblivious to her little rock-kicking stunt. I started forward to warn Tigerstar. He should know about this. Then I stopped. What if I was wrong? What if Violetshadow _wasn't _a traitor? I mean, it _was_ possible that this was just a huge coincidence. Plus, suspecting an innocent victim would show that I didn't trust my fellow Dark Forest members. That was what made Tigerstar the angriest. "Suspecting your allies", he called it. Somehow, "traitor" didn't sound very good for my warrior application.

Still, I wasn't about to just let this slide. I'd watch Violetshadow until I was sure where her loyalties lay. Bristlefrost would, too. We'd keep our suspicions to ourselves until we got more evidence. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen. Violetshadow was obviously a valuable asset to the Dark Forest. Plus, she seemed like if you got to know her well enough, you could end up being good friends. And friends were definitely something I was a little short of.

So yeah. I'd watch her training. I'd study her actions. I'd keep my eye on her. I'd pray with all my might that the worst possible scenario did not become a reality.

I really, really hoped that my enemy wasn't the person standing right beside me.


End file.
